


Do You :REmember?

by AelinShurtugal, KatoKo



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-22
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2018-03-31 17:31:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 36
Words: 66,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3986710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AelinShurtugal/pseuds/AelinShurtugal, https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatoKo/pseuds/KatoKo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spin-off AU from Tokyo Ghoul:re Chapter 28 (Auction Raid): Sasaki Haise remembers everything after being tortured by Aogiri Tree after the Auction Raid. The CCG contemplates whether to save or abandon him but by then, it may be too late before the Sasaki Haise they knew disappears. Broken bonds are linked back and lost memories return. Can Kaneki Ken handle everything while protecting everyone once again?<br/>Then Hide returns. A ghoul squad is formed with Associate Class Hideyoshi and Kaneki and their goal? To destroy Aogiri Tree.<br/>Co-authored with my classmate, AelinShurtugal :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. To Hell Once Again

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy!

“Should we open the file?”

“It could be a trap.”

“We have to! It’s for Sassan! There may be important information inside!”

“Rank One Sasaki Haise is dispensable. We should not risk the whole CCG just for him.”

Murmurs and arguments immediately tore through the air until a fist was slammed onto the table. Utter silence filled the hall, everyone glancing at a certain white-haired investigator. “Just open the file,” he ordered. Everyone could feel the waves of stress permeating throughout the hall as the technical personnel did what they did best and projected the contents on the wide screen. It was a live broadcast.

The screen fuzzled for a while before clearing out.

“They connected! They connected!” a small figure who wore a hoodie and was bandaged shouted with joy. From her voice one could tell she was female. She hopped backwards and ran towards a white haired man with a red mask further back in the dark room, allowing the broadcasting camera to have a wider view angle.

The camera focused and beside the two figures was an unmistakable body, his neck, wrists and legs chained to a metal table. His originally white and black hair was matted together with dried up maroon blood and his clothes were torn in countless areas.

“Sassan!” “Sasaki-san!” “Maman!” “... Sasaki Haise.”

There were many shouts of shock, horror and other reactions but one could obviously hear the worry in the voices of the Quinx Squad members. Akira was clenching her teeth and Arima had his fist tightened into a ball under the table.

“Those are unrecognisably two of the higher ups of Aogiri Tree...” Marude muttered.

The bandaged female tilted her head to the side and cheered, “Since we have an audience now, we can start, can’t we? The least we can do for Kaneki Ken here is to show his CCG comrades a big show, can’t we?” She then turned to the side and gestured for someone to come closer.

This ghoul had a plain mask adorning his face, but with a very creepy wide grin printed on it. He rolled a tray of medical tools towards the trio. The girl took a syringe and walked towards the camera slightly.

“Did Kaneki Ken ever tell you? Jason had tortured him before -- but he was such a coward to forget his past life, don’t you think? We miss the Kaneki we had back then, so we’re going to do him a favour and make him remember!” The members of the CCG who had heard about Jason shuddered.

Sasaki had gone through that kind of life before? Who knew ghouls did not only kill humans? Some felt a twinge of mercy for the young investigator.

“Ka~ne~ki! Do you remember what Jason did? Do you?” the hooded figure crowed. Meanwhile, the ghoul who was previously from the Chinese ghoul organisation, Chi She Lian, grabbed a bunch of Sasaki’s hair and yanked backwards. Hard. A choked cry came from the half-ghoul.

“...N-no,” the half-ghoul could barely form a reply with his head jerked behind.

The hooded figure grinned behind the bandages. “Since we don’t have access to RC Suppressant Gas or Quinque syringes, we are going to use the authentic method! Do you know the only place a normal syringe can hurt a ghoul?” Sasaki shook his head slightly, already trembling at all the possibilities running through his head. Her kakugan showed, the red of the irises evident through the holes of the bandages where the eyes were. She pulled down the skin below the eye. “Here.”

The sickening sound of squishing, pouring blood could be heard, accompanied by a heart-wrenching scream.

Someone ran out of the room, possibly from the nausea.

“Find the origins of the signal!” Yoshitoki Washuu ordered while the video continued its broadcast.

“The signal is from an unknown source! We can’t pinpoint its location!” a technician shouted.

* * *

Eto... Tatara... Noro... these were the three names he had recognised upon being chained on the metal table.

“Ne~ Jason did this, didn’t he?” Eto smirked. Haise fearfully glanced sideways as much as he could with Tatara pulling on his head. Eto was holding a plier. A switch flicked on in his mind.

“N-no... No... Not again,” Haise choked. His left eye could only see red from the blood gushing out. The pain. He had experienced it once before. He did not want to go through it again.

_A bucket. A bloody bucket. Inside? He could see fingers, toes, and blood. And they were his. They were all his. And his fingers and toes were plucked over and over, to fill up a bucket. It hurt so much but they just kept growing back. His skin was pink from being newly formed, and his ankles and wrist were sure to leave scars from the struggling._

Eto hummed, “Hmm? You remember? That makes it all the more better!”

Haise screamed. He could feel the wet dripping blood streaming from his right index finger. His RC cells were rushing to heal the wound but before anything could be regenerated, another finger was gone.

And another finger.

And another finger.

And another finger.

His hand felt so... empty.

He could feel his mind going insane. Even his other self was screaming.

_**R-RiZE-saN... nO-nNnNOOoOO... tHe PaiN iS Too mUCh... yAmOorI... hELl... sOMeOne KiLL mE... M-Mo-ThEr mOtHEr I aM A MonSTeR...** _

Haise’s Kagune was itching to unleash but the RC suppressants were taking effect. His blood was BURNING. His hand was BURNING. His eye was BURNING. Everything was BURNING.

Just like Anteiku...

Anteiku? What was that?

Another scream erupted from his already sore throat.

His head felt empty, his blood already drained. The fingers on his left hand started disappearing one by one. He vaguely heard an overly cheerful voice saying, “No wonder Jason liked to torture Kaneki so much! Look at his regenerative powers! Ahahah!”

“O-one t-thousand... Nine hu-hundred a-and n-ninety si-x...”

_“Clean up the blood.”_

_“Yes sir.”_

_The door closed._

_“Kaneki... Don’t worry. We will surely find a way to save you.”_

_His blood squished as it was being mopped up. The originally clear water in the bucket was dyed a dark red. He could not formulate a reply but smiled nonetheless. Someone would save him. He just had to tolerate this. He would not die yet. He counted. And counted. And counted to keep his sanity. If he could still count, he was still sane, wasn’t he?_

His toes were next.

“Nine hun-ndred an-d e-eigh-ty s-six...”

He was missing five digits on his right foot already.

“N-n-nine h-hund-dred a-an-d s-se-ven-nty n-nine...”

“He’s noisy,” Tatara stated.

Eto tilted her head again. “Hmm... True! Let’s take out his vocal chords! It would be so much quieter!” With one grab, her hand latched onto Haise’s throat. And --

 _Rip_.

He wanted to scream.

But no sound came out. There was only the gurgling of blood in his throat. And he could feel _everything_. He _hated_ his regenerative speed _so so much_! The wounds on his right hand had closed up and were regenerating slowly. To any ghoul, this would have been amazing, a feat impossible after having battled a half-owl.

But it certainly was not. Not when you are being tortured. Over and over.

Over and over.

He screamed and screamed in his head, over and over, until nothing registered anymore.

* * *

“... We will find a way to save you... Just wait for us...”

 


	2. Sacrifice

_“Associate Special Class Washuu, who is Rank One Sasaki fighting against? ANSWER!” Akira hollered through the headpiece. There was no reply. Sasaki was screaming, and the speakers were no help by amplifying them. It was positive that he was fighting someone equally strong or stronger than him and without his memories of Centipede... Sasaki would undoubtedly die._

_The screaming stopped but was replaced with another shrill, however not from Sasaki. Instead Sasaki’s voice was broadcasted through unknown speakers._

_He was panting heavily. “Everyone... Owl is coming... Please... Retreat…!”_

_That was the only warning before bombs were detonated inside and around the auction building. “RETREAT NOW!” was the order from Washuu. No one had second thoughts about retreating. Some were killing the fleeing ghouls on sight, a prime example being an elated Juuzou, while running away from the falling debris. Mutsuki was dragging an almost unconscious Urie as best as he could while following Juuzou’s squad._

_When most of the personnel were back in the CCG trucks, the squad leaders were ordered to do a headcount and report their numbers._

_“Akira-san! Sassan isn’t back yet!” Shirazu yelled through the microphone._

_“... I know. I will report this to Associate Special Class Washuu,” came the reply, only a thin veil of calmness shrouding the obvious worry in her voice._

_Saiko was hugging her legs to her chest. “Maman was screaming so much... I hope he’s fine...” Mutsuki could only give what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Urie even had the decency to take off his earphones while leaning against the truck wall, hoping not to agitate his wounds too much._

_“Quinx Squad,” came Akira’s voice broadcasted to the squad. “On Associate Special Class Washuu’s orders, we are to leave Rank One Sasaki Haise behind and move back to headquarters.”_

_“WHAT! We’re NOT leaving Sassan behind! Did you hear what was happening?” Shirazu insisted._

_Akira sighed. “Yes, I know. I had an argument with him too but it’s an order. Sasaki is stronger than what you four think. Based on footage from the helicopters, Sasaki has transformed into Centipede and is fighting off Owl. If we interfere at this rate, there will be more than just one death.”_

_Shirazu bit his lips. “... Fine. But we WILL come back to save Sassan right?”_

_There was silence for a while before Akira spoke. “Yes. We will.”_

* * *

How many days has it been? One day? Two days? Fuck, it felt like a century. He could not see anything. He was not sure who, but someone had gouged out his eyes over and over, every time it regenerated. It was apparently to “inject the RC suppressant fluids into him with much more ease”. He had been in the darkness since forever.

His vocal chords had been ripped out so many times he had given up screaming. He could only hear the threats, hear the footsteps, hear the door opening, hear the pliers, hear the sickening crunch, hear the drop of one of his body parts, hear the squelch of his blood. He could feel his blood. Everywhere. He was sure that if he had been human, he would have died long time ago. This was the cursed fate of a ghoul.

His sanity was slipping slowly... slowly... He did not bother reciting the numbers anymore. He had done it so many times in his head he could go down from one thousand by seven and from zero up by seven easily. He needed something to cling onto. He could feel himself sinking into the darkness of where his other self resided.

“Kaneki~ You’re awake aren’t you? I’ve gotten bored with only your fingers and toes. I think We should move on to something bigger! Since you can’t see, I hope the feeling is enhanced!” He felt it before he heard it. His wrist was being sawed through. He wanted to scream so bad but damn them for tearing out his vocal chords. He jerked so hard on his restraints he was amazed they had not broken yet.

He heard his right hand drop onto the blood-stained floor. His left was next. He knew this routine all too well.

**_Haise... Haise... Talk to me..._ **

Can we finally talk to each other in peace? I don’t want to face reality anymore... I want to die...

**_I know. It was Rize who kept me company that time. If you become insane, both you and me shall perish._ **

Rize? Who was she?

**_Accept me, Haise. Then you will remember everything._ **

I don’t want to. I know it was horrible.

**_You need something to hold you back to sanity, right? Use your memories. Remember everyone right from your birth till now. You can hold onto your life for another twenty-two years._ **

The scene changed.

It was a younger Haise with black hair sitting on a playground slide with a blond kid.

**_Do you remember him? His name is Nagachika Hide, your best friend, your only home after your mother died._ **

The scene changed again to a dark coffee shop. This time, it was a white-haired Haise with a kakuja mask talking to the same blond man.

**_This was the last time you saw him. Did he die? Did he live? I want to know so bad. He was the only sunshine in my dark dark world._ **

The scene changed to a coffee shop full of people.

**_Do you remember them? Kaya-chan, Enji-san, both of which you were unable to save and died at the hands of Arima. Yoshimura-san, the manager of Anteiku. You failed to save him too because you were too slow. Nishio-senpai? You saw him that time, didn’t you? As Serpent. And you almost killed him even though you promised his girlfriend, Kimi, to protect him. Hinami-chan? Banjou? Tsukiyama? You just abandoned them, the group that was so loyal to you they would die to protect you._ **

L ** _ast but not least, Touka-chan. Your beloved who you totally and SIMPLY forgot about. She never turned away from you no matter how much you changed. She still loves you but you forgot about her. And where is she now? At RE: selling coffee in hopes of seeing you once again?_**

... These were all my precious people?

**_Yes... That is why you cannot die here, Haise._ **

Haise was brought back to reality once again. Had he really been sleeping through the torture? He could feel a stump where his right hand should have been.

He heard a cold voice. It was Tatara. “Enjoying your time here? I’m getting really bored -- so we are going to take a step further. I wonder if your CCG friends are going to come and save you. You do know that this has been on a live broadcast to them right? Maybe they have already given up on saving you. Oh well. Time to have my share of fun.”

The saw was slicing through his elbow. It was awfully painful. He barely had enough RC cells already and to make it worse, once the elbow was gone, he chopped off Haise’s whole left arm from the shoulder. Haise tried to scream but all he could do was to choke out dark maroon blood. He was gurgling and choking on his own blood. It was disgusting. Everything was disgusting. When he was out from his restraints, he was going to kill them.

It hurt as fuck. He was going to KILL them. He was going to FUCKING kill them all.

Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.

 


	3. Helplessness

Blind. His eyes had been newly gouged again. He had been through this before right? Before he was found by Arima in the hospital, he had no eyes too.

Mute. After the many times his vocal chords had been ripped, his RC cells had not healed it yet.

Deaf. The only thing he could hear was the _centipede_ crawling in his head chamber. _Click. Clatter. Click._ He was going crazy.

His nose could not smell anything either, other than the stench of blood.

Sasaki Haise was numb. The person who said one would get used to pain was a liar. He could feel every single _drop_ of his blood from every single open wound.

_Drop._

_Drop._

_Drop._

His arms had not regrown much ever since Tatara had cut them off for... Sasaki could not count anymore. The numbers... They could not keep him sane anymore. His legs were gone too. When they realised he could not regenerate as fast as before, they did not feed him anything and with the chain on his neck, it was impossible for him to try and drink his own blood, as crazy as he sounded. But he was desparate. _Eat. Eat. Eat. Kill. Kill. Kill._

They had burnt him, whipped him, cut him open, even impaled knives, of course made out of Quinque steel, into his abdomen and when his body healed itself around the knives, they pulled it out. Painstakingly slowly. Fuck everyone. Fuck his life. He just wanted to die.

His only consolation had been his other self. Kaneki Ken. That was his real name, was it not? Though he had thought his other self to be an evil being, as the seconds ticked by, Haise felt the connection between them both slowly click.

* * *

“Oof!” Saiko was smashed into the wall. Shirazu followed. Urie was flipped onto the ground, almost breaking a bone.

This would have been like the training sessions Sasaki would organize for the squad, except this time, Sasaki was not there. Instead, Special Class Arima had taken over Sasaki’s place in training them. So the training was at least a hundred times worse.

“Focus.”

Mutsuki, even being at the back, was heaving so hard he could barely formulate a reply. “Sir, we h-have been going at it... hah... for hah... three hours. I.. hah... don’t think anyone can continue.”

Arima straightened his posture. “Haise could train with me for one whole day and would still stand up to fight. You do want to save your squad mentor, do you not? If you’re not even half as good with all four of you combined, you’ll be slaughtered even before you step into their base. Take a ten minutes break before we continue.”

The four slunk out of the practice room to drink their fill of water. “... You can tell everyone’s not focused. Neither is Arima-san,” Saiko mumbled. The rest nodded and shuddered at the thought of what their squad mentor was experiencing right at this moment. The broadcast had been put on a shared platform for all CCG computers so each personel was tasked at a certain time slot to always keep watch in case of any changes. Of course, it was saved for references too.

But there was reluctance amongst the investigators to monitor the bloody scene that was the broadcast. They were scared of him, to say the least, for his mysterious meteoric rise through the ranks, and there was even envy for his success. They sympathised with Haise, but they watched over him as a comrade, and not as a friend. What was the point in wasting lives for just one investigator? An investigator everyone feared.

Those investigators that walked past the Quinx would smile at them reassuringly (though it was just a courtesy) and promise them that Sasaki Haise would be saved. Well... these were the happier thoughts, but some of those on duty had requested not to watch the broadcast because... they could not stand all the torture. There were puking, trauma, medical leaves and some even wanted to resign.

The Quinx (they knew Arima, Akira and occasionally some of the closer investigators like Juuzou) would watch their mentor when they were free, thus leaving them sleepless through the night having nightmares and whatnot. Now they knew why Sasaki had always muttered numbers in his dreams and was always waking up in cold sweat.

“... We should go back in,” Urie reminded as the four stood up and headed back into the training room. Compared to what Sasaki was experiencing, this was nothing. They would endure this for Sasaki.

* * *

Juuzou was fidgeting. A lot. He had even resorted to sewing another line of cross stitches down his left arm, something he had tried not to do for the past three years.

“Sir, you should stop doing that. It’s quite disturbing,” Hanbee, Juuzou’s partner, suggested timidly.

“Hanbee, are you still scared of blood even after so long? You should look at Sasaki and learn. I can’t just sit here eating candy while Haise is going through what I’ve went through. I’ve told you about Mama before the Auction Raid, remember?” Hanbee nodded. Indeed, before Juuzou was a huge pile of candy, most of which were stolen from Haise and when Juuzou stared that them, he just felt so guilty.

He felt the same way when Shinohara... was sent to the hospital. Haise was only one of the few people who actually took the time to understand him and not treat him like a crazy lunatic. Juuzou actually cared. “I want to go save Haise.”

“I know. We all do.”

“Now.”

“Sir, you can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

Hanbee sighed. Juuzou was being stubborn once again. “We don’t know where he is.”

“Well then! Our squad is going to do some treasure hunting!” Juuzou leapt up from his seat and rushed out of the door, his squad heaving a relieved sigh when Hanbee managed to grab onto Juuzou’s shirt.

“... Sir.”

“Argh fine. We will wait for orders from the higher-ups but I just feel so useless sitting here!”

“... We know.”

* * *

“Akira-san, wasn’t Centipede the one who killed your boyfriend?” one of the Mado squad members asked. “You should hate him, but why is it that you are so keen on helping this murderer?”

Akira looked up from her paper and glared holes into her subordinate’s head. She closed her eyes and sighed. “You’ve never talked much with Sasaki before, have you?” The man shook his head.

“Amon had told me about Centipede, or previously known as Eyepatch. Eyepatch, for your information, was human before and was transformed into a ghoul by a doctor experimenting on him,” Akira explained. The investigator raised an eyebrow but pushed for her to continue. The conversation had the other squad members perk their ears up to eavesdrop.

“I am not allowed to say much, but for the record, Eyepatch, or later on, Centipede, had no records of human killings, his only relation to a murder being my father, Mado Kureo’s, death. There has been no sightings or reports of Centipede actually killing a human. And regarding Amon’s supposed death, he is just MIA,” she told him, her voice getting more threatening by the word to tell him not to pry any further. The investigator shuddered and decided that he liked his life more.

Akira put on her headphones once again, praying that her mentee would be safe by the time they could reach him.

* * *

Arima had trained the Quinx everyday, regretting once again for unleashing his anger on Haise’s squad members. But he could not help it. Haise was... like a son to him and he was supposed to take care of him. And look what had happened. On one of the few investigations he had not participated in.

He was helpless. Everyone was. It was going to be two weeks since Haise’s capture. Everything was prepared to raid the Aogiri base, but the problem was where they were located. Twelve days of expeditions, tracking and ghoul killing did not help one bit.

Arima was watching the broadcast once again. How could he sleep peacefully? Haise was just a bloody mess. His limbs were gone, his voice was gone, his eyes were gone. Eyes. It must have sparked something in Haise because that was the last feeling he had before he ‘died’. Arima would not blame Haise if he would hate him when he remembers, but even so, it was so painful to watch him.

Was that how Kaneki Ken’s hair turned white? Antoinette Syndrome, was it? Was that why he had two distinct personalities, much like Jason of the 13th ward? Arima never knew much about Kaneki Ken’s life.

The Aogiri ghouls never left him alone for more than half an hour. his limbs would be newly cut off, or he would be whipped countless of times, stabbed over and over, sliced over and over. Better still, there was even once where they burned the open wounds where his limbs were once. Arima rarely felt.

He never really felt anything towards anyone, but Haise was special. Arima never felt pain but when he watched Haise, he could feel everything. And not being able to help Haise with anything made him feel unwanted and helpless to no end.

Would Haise die? Haise looked so fragile. If they did not save him soon, he would die for sure.

_... Haise…_

 


	4. Wills

_ I really hoped that I wouldn't die in the raid, but if I did, I want to say some things to some people. First of all, to the CCG, thank you for giving me a family even though I’m not human like all of you. _

_To Saiko: I know that being a Quinx wasn’t what you’ve wanted in the first place, but now that you have a Kagune, I think it is only the right thing to do for you to work hard on using your abilities to protect people. I know you can do it Saiko, with me or without me. Your family may have been bad to you, but know that you are family to me and I hope that I can be your family too. Actually, scrap that. I hope the whole Quinx squad can be one happy family. Saiko, you have talent. If I am already dead, would it be too much to ask for you to work hard? Please don’t follow my lead and meet me up in heaven earlier than you should._

_To Mutsuki: I believe in you, Mutsuki. You may be behind the rest in terms of Kagune usage, but I know you can do it. I don’t think the CCG will take lightly to a Quinx who cannot produce a Kagune, but take your time and train. Kagunes aren’t your only weapon. I hope you will continue to grow and live up to my great expectations for you. Be more confident and never lose your compassionate side. Thank you for always sticking with me when others run off and giving consolation when I need it. You are really a trustworthy friend._

_To Shirazu: Keep up the good work, Squad Leader! I won’t be there to mentor you anymore but you’re doing great. Some life tips though, you’re an Ukaku type so don’t use your Kagune unless you really have to. That said, please continue to train. Be careful of your RC cells or you’ll become a ghoul like me. Learn as much as you can and don’t be so stubborn. Keep the Quinx Squad together for me, won’t you? I’ll watch over you guys from up above._

_To Urie: I don’t dare to say this in your face for fear of you hating me more than you already do, but can you please slap yourself? Because you’re a stupid stubborn asshole with a prickly cactus up your ass that is permanently stuck there no matter how hard I try to pull it out. Please be more matured and less stubborn. You’re nineteen for goddamn’s sake. Promotion should not be your priority. Your father died trying to_ protect _people and_ not _to get promoted. You’re a great leader and I hope you will take care of the others. I don’t want you to be so obsessed with power that you will fall into the depths of insanity, alright? I’m saying this so at least someone will tell you so I hope that you’re not mad._

_To Juuzou: There’s some stash of sweets in my room on the right drawer under my table. You can take those. I don’t mind :)_

_To Hanbee and the Suzuya squad: Please make sure Juuzou doesn’t run off and kill himself (well, not like he can die). Take care!_

_To Akira: Thank you for being my mentor and teacher for the past three years. You will still be my Mom even after I’ve passed away, so don’t worry! I won’t forget you and I hope you won’t forget me either, but please move on and don’t be Mad(o). Okay don’t Mado punch me -- oh wait you can’t hahaha... but take care and don’t keep everything in, alright? It’s bad for your health._

_To Arima: Can I call you Dad? Will you slap me like Mom? Hahaha I don’t think so! You love me too much, don’t you? As a token of my love, I want all my books to be given to you because I know you will take good care of them like you did to me. Please help me take care of my squad and don’t let them rush off to their deaths like me. And please take care of yourself, alright? You’re like an owl, you know? That time I stayed in your house while recuperating, I bet you slept less than eight hours and that’s bad for a man’s health! And learn how to cook, Dad. Food takeaways are unhealthy! Was the food I made even nice? I can’t taste it unless it’s coffee. Are my coffees fine too? Anyway, the same thing I’ve said to Mom, don’t keep everything in! It’s going to make you have wrinkles and I think it may even go with that white hair of yours. Good luck and live a long life!_

_To all the people I’ve left behind in my past life: I don’t remember anything but I know that you all took care of me one way or another, or I would never be the person I am today. Thank you for everything and please move on, with or without me here._

_Thank you everyone. I am very happy to have met such wonderful people._

* * *

“Oi. They’re going to catch you if they find you here and fuck that’s gonna be a mess to deal with. Go back to the room,” a blue-haired male ordered sternly. The shorter, skinnier brown-haired girl ignored the taller, not even flinching when he appeared behind her. She had heard his footsteps and smelt him a long time ago.

“He’s suffering so much, Ayato. We have to save him,” she said, her ear pressed against the thick metal door linking the main base to a soundproof chamber. As soundproof as it may be, Hinami had one of the best senses around, allowing her to earn her keep in Aogiri.

Ayato huffed. “How do you plan on saving Eyepatch? It’s almost been two weeks and he’s going to die sooner or later.”

Hinami glanced up at Ayato beneath her hood. “Ayato...”

The blue-haired teen raised an eyebrow, silently asking her to continue.

“Will you betray Aogiri Tree with me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! KatoKo is back and kicking after a horrendous hospital stay! Both of us (me and AelinG) have planned out the next few chaps so stay tuned! Much thanks to AelinShurtugal who have been writing and editing and posting the chaps when I was basically lying on a bed (which means I can write hospital scenes better now }:) )


	5. Good Ghouls and Bad Ones

“ARIMA-SAN!” four different coloured blurs crashed into Arima’s office _without_ knocking. And it irked him. Everyone had been moody as hell after reading Haise’s will. Even he was under the weather about this.

He looked up from the paper work he was doing. “May I help you, Quinx Squad?” he asked. They promptly slammed something onto his table. A letter? He picked it up when the Quinx did not respond, fidgeting nervously.

_Dear CCG,_

_I trust that you know about Kaneki Ken’s situation. I am a ghoul and you may decide if you want to heed my advice or not, but please read through this letter. I am Hinami Fueguchi, the ghoul that you had chased down in the 20th ward four years ago when you murdered both my parents. Kaneki Ken, or as I call him, Onii-chan, had taken good care of me then. Therefore, I am writing this letter for you to help him._

_You will not be able to get into our base even if I were to tell you where it is located, as the only possible ways to access it are all secret passages. However, when you find us, in return for helping you in finding your comrade, I have a few requests. If you do not adhere to them, I, along with a few others, will murder you on the spot._

_Please do not harm these ghouls: Black Rabbit, Rabbit, Raven and me. When I give you directions to Rabbit and Raven, they will no doubt help you after you explain to them the situation. Even if the CCG may be stubborn with their opinions on ghouls, Rabbit and Raven have only been eating suicide victims. Black Rabbit and me, however, you may feel the need to kill us since we are both Executives of Aogiri Tree. But we are risking our very lives for the sake of giving you this information. I hope this can atone for our sins._

_If you agree to these requests, here is what you need to do to find our base. We are located in the 20th ward’s underground ghoul hiding sewers made many decades back when the ghouls needed shelter from the CCG. There are only a few passages to the underground. Rabbit and Raven know where one is and you should be able to find them in the 1st Ward. They work at a coffee shop named :Re and if you ever hurt Onee-chan and Raven, I will never forgive you. You’ve hurt them enough when you slaughtered Anteiku._

_Once you’ve contacted them, ask them to bring you into the sewers by my request. They may even fight alongside you if you allow them too. Once you are in the sewers, Black Rabbit and I will join you in fighting against Aogiri Tree._

_Onii-chan won’t last much longer. Please hurry up._

_Regards,_   
_Hinami Fueguchi_

* * *

“Sir, we should raid the shop. They are ghouls after all,” a random investigator suggested.

Arima’s glare was silencing. “This is our only chance and I’m willing to gamble it. Quinx, follow me.” The aforementioned people followed after Arima, carrying their briefcases in case it was a trap. The CCG vans were stations a few streets away so as to not alert the staff of :Re. Arima had wisely requested Akira not to follow them as meeting ‘Rabbit’, who had been involved in her father’s death, may cause a spark of anger.

The shop’s chime rang and the group of five were greeted by the blue-haired waitress. “Welcome!” she greeted from behind the bar. “Oh! Welcome back! I see you’ve brought some other friends with you this time!” she gestured towards Arima, Saiko and Urie, whom she had never seen before. But where was Haise?

Shirazu scratched his head. “You remember us?”

“Of course! Well, I try to as much as possible,” she smiled. “Would you like to take a seat and order some coffee? Our latte is on promotion this week.” She picked up her clipboard but realised that none of them had taken a seat yet. She tilted her head to the side questioningly.

Arima sighed. “I’ll be direct. Read this letter,” he handed Hinami’s letter over to the waitress. Touka sped read through the contents and her eyes widened. “I assume that you are either Rabbit or Raven?” Touka stepped back a few steps, backing up against the bar. She cursed whatever deity that made Yomo collect more ‘food’.

“Are you going to kill me? You are aren’t you. The CCG is always the same, killing ghouls on the spot no matter how harmless we are,” Touka said as her kakugan showed.

Shirazu had started to contact the backup squad, but Arima stopped him, dropped his briefcase and brought his hands up. “No. I believe you do not know what Kaneki, also known as Haise, is going through right now. He has been tortured by Aogiri Tree for the past thirteen days. We plan to save him by tomorrow but we need your help.”

Touka took some time to register every word the Death Reaper had said. “... Fuck. Not again. Kaneki had to go through all those shit again?! What kind of ‘friends’ are you?” Touka yelled. The rest did not answer and Touka heaved a sigh. “Fine. I will help you but it’s not for the CCG’s sake, understand that. It’s for Kaneki.” Relief filled the group’s faces at the news.

“By the way, my name is Kirishima Touka. Raven, who I’m going to call back now, is Yomo Renji,” Touka informed them while speed dialing Yomo. But before it could ring any further, the staff door was swung open and a white-haired man walked in.

Saiko pinched her nose. “... Is that _blood_ I smell?”

Yomo glanced to Touka and Touka nodded. Yomo answered, “It’s food.”

Before what he said could be misinterpreted, Touka coughed and interrupted, “By ‘food’, he means suicide victims, exactly what Hinami mentioned in the letter. I hope you don’t mind, but we ghouls _do_ need to eat.” The rest tried not to shudder while Shirazu’s image of the lovely waitress Touka had been shattered.

“Yomo, we’re closing :Re for a while.”


	6. I Am A Monster

Was an operation supposed to be this painful? Haise had been flipped over onto his stomach and his back muscles were being ripped out. Piece by piece.

“Kaneki-kun, do you remember me? I was your doctor quite some time ago! And look at what a fine specimen you have become! I am so proud of you, you know. None of my other experiments had such wonderful results, so I’m going to see just how far you can go,” a familiar voice said. Haise had heard his voice before, but he just could not grasp who this was.

He could not see what was going on but it was fucking painful. He felt like dying. Would God be so nice as to kill him right on the spot now? Dying was better than this. His back was ripped out. Replaced with something. Another part was ripped out. Replaced with something.

His blood had been drained long time ago and his RC cells could not keep up with all the damage his body was receiving. His mind blackened out once again.

* * *

_**Haise... Will you accept your memories?** _

_Do I have any other choice? It would be nice to know who and what I have been for my whole life before I die..._

_**Alright.** _

Everything came rushing back in an instant and if Haise was not already unconscious, he would have been from the impact of his memories. It was painful, but for some reason, he was glad he finally remembered. He had hurt so many people in the past... Was he allowed to live? He did not know. No wonder Touka and Yomo were so familiar. Where was Banjou, Tsukiyama and Hinami? They probably thought he was dead after the Anteiku raid. Hide? Hide’s dead right? Was he? Where was Hide?

And Akira must hate him so much. He wondered if Amon was alive. He hoped so, or he would never forgive himself. And for some weird reason, he did not hate Arima one bit.

They had given him a family.

Even though he was a monster.

Yes. He was a monster.

Neither human nor ghoul.

A monster indeed.

* * *

The line fuzzled and connected. “It’s clear,” came Touka’s reply after both she and Yomo had knocked everyone in the shop unconscious. They were not supposed to kill any humans. Touka and Yomo headed in first. This shop was newly built where the previous Anteiku was, Anteiku having been burnt down and destroyed, but the stairwell to the underground passages was the same.

They had trackers on them, so the CCG soon caught up with the two, who had their masks on. From the top of the stairs, they could see the vast expense of the chamber where the past ghouls would gather for meetings and gatherings. It was filled with ghouls, all wearing Aogiri masks and hoods. The hall, it seemed, was being used for a meeting, with Ayato, or Black Rabbit, going through some mission plan.

At the side of the raised platform was Hinami. She must have smelt them when they entered the passage as she glanced directly at them and gave a small but distinguishable nod. “Commence raid,” Yomo ordered through the earpieces they were given and he dropped down, along with Touka, into the mass of ghouls, firing their Ukaku shards at anything they encountered.

Ayato and Hinami unleashed their Kagune too, slashing into everyone non-human with the exception of Touka and Yomo. The CCG officers had reached the bottom of the stairs, whipping out their Quinques to fight the horde. Alert bells rang out throughout the underground caverns. More ghouls emerged from the passageway links but they were cut through one by one.

“Squad 0, Mado Squad, Quinx Squad, head towards where Sasaki is,” Washuu ordered through the headpiece. “Other squads, split up through the passageways.” Rogers were heard as the CCG group diffused.

Ayato lead the group heading towards Sasaki. “He’s located quite far in,” he said as he put on his mask. “Just keep running. I’ll clear the way.”

True to what he said, his Ukaku bashed through any ghouls sees, splattering blood on the walls and on the uniforms of the CCG officers following behind.

They heard it before they saw anything. Ayato had stopped suddenly, with Touka almost smashing into her brother with the sudden cease in movements. “Aya-”

“Shh,” he warned. “... But what in the actual fuck is that?!” Touka craned her neck to look at the scene.

“... Wha? Kaneki, what did they do to you?!” Touka muttered. “Shit! What’s happening to him, Ayato?”

“How in the fucking world would I know? I wasn’t allowed in there!”

**“MoNSteER... I aAamM a MOnsTer, rIgHt? WhAT aM I? hU-U-uU-U-mAn? Or GHoooUL? aHAahHA i dOn’tT kNOwW AnYMoOrE hHahaAHAha... I WiLL jUsT kIiIIiiIIIILl, riGHt? nO-o-O I aM hUmAN I DOn’t KilL aNYmoRE bUt i AM gHoUL, rIGHT? AhahHAHahHAahHA MoOtHer wHaAT hHaVe I bEcccOmE? WhO aM III??”**

“Kaneki! Snap out of it!” Touka tried to shout at him, but he was not responding.

“Haise. HAISE. LISTEN TO US!” Arima tried to get the half-ghoul’s attention.

**“O-o-On-E tThOUUsSAnD-D-D m-MiNUs SeVEn-nN iS wHAt? HEeEHEeHE.”**

A blood-red Rinkaku tentacle lashed out, Arima dodging it. “Haise. Control yourself. This is not you.” From what Arima could discern, Haise’s limbs had grew back, as seen from the reddish shade of the skin. How was unknown to him. But his eyes were another thing. There were black caverns of emptiness and Arima could only grit his teeth at the reminders of what he had done to Haise years ago.

Haise was just laughing maniacally. **“I’M hUNgRy... i’M HuNGrY... bLOoD... ahHahH mYY bLOod oR nOT AhaAHHA hOW lONg HaVE I bEEn STarvINg?”**

They had surrounded him in a circle, watching him to determine his moves. It was obvious that Kaneki was not conscious. He was rampaging. Touka cringed at the thought that the torture he was subjected to resulted in Kaneki becoming like this. Kaneki, who was just a bookworm who only had one single friend, having every unfortunate thing happen to him just because of a single harmless date.

**“I’M hUnGrY... sO So hUNgrY...”** Haise stumbled through the passageway the rest had come from in a blur. He had totally ignored them.

“Sassan!” Shirazu yelled after him, the group chased after him, with the Ukakus and far-raged Quinques attacking him. His tentacles were blocking everything.

Arima brought out Narukami. He muttered an apology before firing it continuously, destroying Haise’s Rinkaku. But something even weirder happened. On the top of his back, very recognisable crystals emerged.

“... What the fuck?!” Ayato cursed. Wasn’t that Eto’s Kagune?

They were promptly saved by Arima’s fast reaction speed of mode changing IXA into defense. By then, they had reached the original hall where there were the most ghouls. The ‘Owl’ shards were fired everywhere, injuring ghouls and humans alike. Recognising a bigger threat, the ghouls started to surround Haise.

Haise had a crazy maniacal grin on his face while he laughed and laughed. The Ukaku was not the only surprise. From his tailbone emerged three massive blades. They were part of the S rated Three Blades.

The CCG had retreated backwards, accessing the situation first, some relaying the information to headquarters.

Now, Haise had produced an Ukaku and a Bikaku. Had they experimented on him once again? Slowly but surely, a Koukaku formed, similar to that of Nutcracker’s. All alongside his unmistakable blood red Rinkaku.

“... What in the heavens did they do?” Akira mumbled, Quinque at ready to strike. Some had their hands to their mouth and some were shivering at the sight. So this was what they had done when they stopped the broadcast for a while. Well, the broadcast had not been continued since as the CCG had barged in during the time in which they stopped the broadcast.

In one sweep of his Rinkaku tentacles, many ghouls were smashed into the walls of the cavern. Shot by the Ukaku shards. Pierced by the Koukaku. Crushed by the Bikaku. Sasaki Haise -- no, Kaneki Ken -- had truly become a monster.

 


	7. Taming A Beast (Part 1)

Most of the ghouls had already been killed or had fled. The scene that Hinami’s eyes took in was a horrific scene of chaos and pandemonium. A very very bloody scene.

“... Onii-chan?” Hinami whispered. This was _not_ the Onii-chan she had last remembered. At ALL. Not even the Sasaki Haise she had heard of while filtering information Aogiri received. He was supposed to be like the Onii-chan she knew when she first met Kaneki Ken: Kind-hearted (though ghouls did not believe this), Understanding, Loyal and most importantly, was human. Even when Onii-chan became cold, he was still human. But what she saw there at that moment was not her Onii-chan at all.

She never liked Aogiri Tree but she joined because Aogiri would be the only way she could find out what happened to Kaneki Ken. She, too, like Touka, refused to believe that he was dead. Onii-chan was stronger than that. He had survived through many things after all.

But she knew that the CCG did not do this to Sasaki. It was Kanou. She could recognise Eto’s sprout of crystals, Miza’s three-bladed tail and the spider-like Nutcracker’s Koukaku anywhere. Sasaki was clutching his head, curled up into a ball with a number of kagunes sprouting from his petite back. They were whipping about, destroying anything near him.

Hinami ran towards the thrashing figure, ignoring Ayato's cries. “Ayato, distract Onii-chan!” Hinami yelled as her dual kagune released, Rinkaku speeding forward to grab Kaneki’s two Koukaku while her own Koukaku blocked whatever shards that were heading her way.

Sasaki’s squad, as she heard, were half-ghouls too. They seemed to catch onto what they were supposed to do. The Ukaku pommeled Kaneki while the other three tried to hold onto Kaneki’s kagune. But Hinami could tell. The Koukaku the taller male possessed could not latch onto anything. Meanwhile, the Bikaku and Rinkaku both were struggling with getting a hold on Kaneki’s slicing Bikaku. They were definite rookies in the use of their kagunes, not even close to the power of an average ghoul.

Hinami clenched her teeth hard when Kaneki’s Rinkaku sliced through her own. It hurt, but she could tolerate this. Her Koukaku instead wrapped around two out of four of the rampaging Rinkaku. Some of the CCG officers came to assist and Hinami could not help but notice the spine user. Her father’s kagune. She ignored the feelings rising in her chest and focused on subduing someone more important to her now than her dead father.

Then she saw the Death Reaper. The person who had almost killed her Onii-chan. She watched his actions closely for fear that he would ‘accidentally’ kill Kaneki.

“Haise, snap out of this!” he yelled drawing out his infamous quinques IXA and Narukami. To Hinami’s surprise, pure agitation was showing on his face. And there was something else. Hesitation. Fear. Guilt. The Death Reaper, who slew ghouls without pause, with complete calmness, as she had heard -- it only made Hinami even more frightened of what her Onii-chan had become. She leapt to one side as one of Kaneki’s Rinkaku slammed into the floor next to her, releasing the two Rinkaku that had been in her grip.

 **“I cAn’t hEaR aNY--aNYThinG hAhaHa...CEntiPEDes cRaWLing...CrAwLiNG...iN mY E--EArs…! hEEhEe,"**  he screamed, writhing and shrieking as his four Rinkaku lashed out, sending Sasaki’s squad flying into the walls.

“Onii-chan!” Hinami cried out. It was so painful to watch. “Ayato, we have to do something!”  

“Like what?!” growled the blue-haired Ukaku, barely dodging Kaneki’s three-bladed Bikaku. He fired a barrage of shards at him but they were all deflected by his Koukaku.

If she only knew.

* * *

Arima was someone everyone kept a distance away. Well, really, everyone. Because who knew how to converse with someone so high up there, almost like a God, and not die of pressure or embarrassment -- or in Ghoul-sense, simply not die? It applied to everyone except a few: His squad, who teased him utterly sometimes; Take, who was his former partner; Akira, who was his partner in taking care of Haise; and of course, Haise himself. Haise had been the closest person that was like a family to him, since his real family had been killed by ghouls.

_Rinkaku tentacles stabbed towards him, and he sliced off their ends with one fell swipe of IXA, letting them drop in a circle around him._

You could say Arima and Haise just clicked. They both liked books, were both introverted and both had white hair (though Haise’s had black in it). The first time he had laid eyes on the half-Kakuja, he just felt this sense of connection to him. He was was supposed to kill him there and then in the sewers but he had not. And he was glad for that or he would have never met Sasaki Haise.

_He ducked as the triple-pronged Bikaku swept over his head, and with Narukami fired thousands of volts towards Haise’s back, cleanly severing his Koukaku._

And it broke his heart each and every time he had to subdue his charge when he took care of him. He had never cared for anyone in his life and neither had he really tried to protect anyone. His job scope was only to eliminate ghouls and that was what he did. But what happens when the person you are supposed to protect is not human but a ghoul?

_Haise screeched in pain, and he tightened his grip on IXA -- for the first time he felt guilt while fighting a ghoul._

It was going to be much harder to subdue Haise than before. He knew Haise was not going to come out of this unscathed but if it was to save him overall, he would do it. He would hurt him for the sake of saving him, just like that time in V14. After all, Haise was the only form of family he had.

_He waited for an opening. The chance came when he was ripping through an Ukaku. He was not sure why but Haise hesitated for a moment. He darted forward and swung his quinque upward in preparation to strike._

_“I’m sorry, Haise.”_


	8. Taming a Beast (Part 2)

“KANEKI!” Touka yelled as she dodged a rampaging tentacle which was accompanied by many sharp and deadly shards, firing some of her own Ukaku crystals as well. Needless to say, they were deflected by the Rinkaku quickly.

Was it even possible for a ghoul to have four Kagunes? Surely not, but it must be Kaneki’s cursed luck that always brought him into the most unfortunate situations. Touka tried not to smirk at the thought of always having to clean up after him. Damn Aogiri. Damn Kanou. Damn CCG. Damn everyone. If only she could have protected him from running to his “death” three years back, then maybe he would not have to endure all this shit.

And after three years of waiting, she could finally see Kaneki. As in Kaneki and not Sasaki Haise. But after all this time, massive shit had happened to him once again. Massive massive shit. Why couldn’t people just protect him properly? Why did an innocent useless bookworm have to go through all this? Touka was very pissed. Because she knew that she herself could do nothing to protect him.

And what made her even more pissed was that she was distracted, resulting in a shard grazing her thigh. “Gah...” Touka tripped a little and she was careless once again. A tentacle ripped through her skin and through her abdomen. Blood made its way up her throat and she coughed the red liquid out, pooling on the floor before her. How long had it been since her last fight? She was rusty indeed.

_**“yOuU l-LOoK tAStY HeEEHEe Y-yOu sHaALl bE m-MY fIRsT mEeEaAL hAhAHAh!”** _

White-hot pain seared through her right shoulder.

* * *

 The meat tasted horrible. So he was eating a ghoul. But it was fine. He was hungry anyways. He just wanted to eat. Hahaha he was just soooo hungry! And it was such a fine piece of meat. He opened his jaws for another bite.

But he felt arms encircling him.

What…?

“Kaneki... If it’s for you, go ahead and eat... It’s fine...”

It was a woman’s voice. He could not see anything. But this voice. This voice.

It was familiar.

He knew this person.

Who. Who. Who. Who. Who.

_**tT-T-oOUuUk-Kk-KaAA** _

* * *

  _“If you were at your best right now, who’s better, you or him?”_

_“A few years ago I would have beaten him.”_

_“Alright. I have an idea.”_

_Teeth sunk into his right shoulder, but it was fine. If it was her, he did not mind. Someone screamed his name and said that he was his. The creep. But it was fine now, wasn’t it? She could fight him. She was strong._

_He could only watch the fight from where he was kneeling, rivulets of blood dribbling down his shoulder. She was beautiful, her Kagune a magnificent shade of red and purple. It was like seeing a literal version of the fire burning in her heart. It was the first time he had really seen her Ukaku._

_He wondered if he would ever be this strong. He wondered if he would ever catch up to her. He wondered if he could ever protect people like how she was protecting him now. She was just perfect in his every sense of the word._

* * *

 She was Touka. The same person who had beaten him over and over in Anteiku, bashed him for breaking plates or using the wrong coffee beans. The person who had glared at him when he tried to help. The same person who had punched him over and over on that overhead bridge. The person who had never ever turned away from him (he could tell she meant the opposite of what she was saying that day on the overhead bridge) even after he had changed so much. The person who had wanted him back so much.

But he had left her.

Again and again.

And what was he doing now?

This flesh that he was ripping off.

Was.

Touka.

* * *

 “... Kaneki?” Touka managed weakly. Somewhere behind, she could hear Yomo’s shouts of worry and Ayato’s curses. So her brother actually cared after so many years, huh. How ironic. But her attention was not on them. It was on the person before her. He was still a person to her even after so many years. He had never been a monster to her -- just a lost nerdy bookworm not knowing what to do and messing up over and over again.

He had been fervently tearing at her now mangled right shoulder, ripping off layer after layer of flesh. His appetite had brought his teeth biting at the flesh around her shoulder bone. She absently wondered how long it would take to heal -- then she was suddenly aware that the pain in her shoulder had ebbed slightly. Kaneki's jaws were open and ready to bite but he did not move. Did something she say hit a nerve? She hoped so.

“Kaneki?” she tried again. His blank eyes were frozen, focused on nothing.

Before anything could happen, though, an impact blasted both Kaneki and her backwards. Kaneki’s kagune were all blasted away, no doubt by the Death Reaper who had the Quinque Narukami held up. With inhuman speed, he dashed forward and brought IXA slicing down Kaneki’s back. Blood spurted and streamed from the deep gash. All of his kakuhou had been injured in that one attack. “I’m sorry, Haise,” Touka heard him say, and a sickly red filled her vision.

Kaneki screamed but fell silent soon after. He lay limp on the cold cement floor, blood quickly pooling around him. Touka crawled towards him, stroking his now tainted but all-white hair with a sad smile on her face as she stared at Kaneki’s face scrunched up in pain. Her shoulder and abdomen were bleeding profusely but she could have cared less about the pain. All she cared about at that moment was Kaneki.

“He needs immediate medical help. Medical Squad,” Arima ordered through the headpiece. Said squad did not need more words before they got to work, trying to stem the blood flow while transferring Kaneki into an ambulance.

* * *

 

Meanwhile, a certain blonde stared out of the small airplane window. _Ahh... those clouds look as white as his hair hahaha... I wonder how he’s doing? That Kaneki..._

 

 


	9. Someone's Back

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

“Shut up” he had tried to say, but no words came out.

_Huh?_

He tried again. Nothing. He tried to look for the source of the irritating sound but... he could not see. Had he no eyes? There was some cloth around his face where his eyes should have been. He could not see. He had no eyes. Where was he? What happened? Was he still in that place? Where was he?

The beeping grew faster. His breath was growing faster, hyperventilating even.

A door was slammed open.

“Haise,” a deep voice called. Who was that? Who knew his name? Let me get out…! “HAISE!” He felt hands clasp his shoulders firmly, shaking him back and forth. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. “HAISE! Listen! I’m Arima, Arima Kishou from the CCG, do you know who I am?” the voice said.

Arima? Arima? Who was he? The Death Reaper from the CCG. Dove. He is an enemy. He is dangerous. He is going to kill everyone. The trembling started, violent and unceasing. His blood was racing through his veins.

“Kaneki!” another voice was heard, this one more feminine. “Oi, damned Shinigami, get away!” the person yelled. He felt the hands on his shoulders get pushed away roughly. “Kaneki, it’s me, Touka. Kirishima Touka, remember? From Anteiku and :Re?”

Touka. Touka was safe. Touka was here. The person right in front of him was Touka. She was safe even after he had eaten her. Wait, he had... he had eaten her? Memories came flooding back and he ignored the searing pain when he lifted his arm to his head in a futile attempt to stop the migraine.

He was hungry. He had eaten something. He had eaten Touka. He had hurt Touka. He was supposed to protect Touka. He was hungry. It was his fault. It was all his fault once again. No. No. No. No. No. No.

“...neki!”

He tried to focus on the voice.

“Kaneki, I’m fine. Don’t blame yourself, idiot. Everyone’s fine. Yomo, Hinami, Ayato, everyone who was there. We’re in Cochlea but it’s fine, no one is going to hurt us here.”

The trembling soon stopped. Everyone was safe. Everyone was safe. It was like music to his ears. Someone slowly pried his hand away from his head.

“...ka” he tried to say, but it came off as a barely audible croak.

“Don’t speak, you stupid idiot!”

Touka was still the same. She was still the same person she had been the last time he had seen her. She was still the short-fused girl that he knew. His mouth slowly twitched to form a smile but it probably looked more like a smirk with what he assumed was bandages around his face.

It was moist around his eyes. He was still able to cry. He was still able to feel. He was still able to smile. He was finally back home...

He sank back into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

 The meeting room had been packed. Exactly what he needed after a stupidly long midnight flight back to Tokyo after an emergency call. He scratched the back of his head. “Uh, hi. I am Associate Special Class Nagachika Hideyoshi who just came back from Germany. Nice to meet you guys?” he gave an embarrassed smile and introduced himself awkwardly. The room was filled with big shots from the CCG, afterall.

The Bureau Director, Yoshitoki Washuu, was there, along with a very recognisable Arima Kishou. WHO THE HELL WOULDN’T BE NERVOUS?! There were many more Special Class and Associate Special Class investigators in that room.

“I believe you have received all the information?” Washuu asked.

“Uhmm, yeah, and am I right to assume that you want to know more about Kaneki? Or Sasaki Haise.”

“Yes, we do, and for now, you shall be in charge of the ghouls that have previously had an affiliation with Sasaki Haise. After the battle yesterday, they have all been sent to Cochlea for treatment.”

“Is it safe to say that the reason I was called back was one, because I personally knew Kaneki, and two, it was written that I understand the nature of ghouls well?”

He received a nod. He continued, “So one suggestion, please. Ghouls actually have feelings -- so please don’t treat them like objects or animals and put them into some kind of cage to die or something...They’re actually exactly like humans but with kakuhou and can only eat humans and coffee, unfortunately.”

“You say they have feelings?” Washuu asked. “Then why do they slaughter us humans so cold bloodedly?”

Hide scratched his head again. “Hahaha...Some ghouls, you can consider them to be the serial killers in our human world. You would question as to why they kill others, but trust me! There are kind-hearted ghouls like Kaneki and the rest, they don’t kill humans unless they have to! Really!”

Not many looked convinced. Someone spoke up. “Then tell me the reason why my father was killed by Kaneki Ken, Rabbit and Fueguchi.” It was Mado Akira, someone who Hide had constantly met as a delivery boy. She was pissed. Well, who wouldn’t be after having her only living parent slaughtered by ghouls?

Hide pondered for a while. “You see, imagine your parents getting killed, one right in front of you even. Your best friend comes along and what do you think she’d do? Wait around for nothing? It just so happens that ghouls have a dangerous way to exact revenge. And did you know, Fueguchi did not want to kill Investigator Mado? It was only a defensive reflex when Rabbit killed Investigator Mado when he was about to kill Fueguchi.”

There was silence once again. It dragged out for so long that Hide thought he could hear crickets.

“Ahahahaaa... you guys must be wondering how I know so much about them, right?” Hide said, nervously fidgeting.

No one nodded but he could see them silently asking him to continue.

“Promise this stays within these walls?”

Everyone looked to the Director who nodded.

“They are all my friends. My best friend is Centipede, or Kaneki Ken. Just an innocent nerdy lonely bookworm who got dragged into all this mess because of one simple date,” he sighed.

 


	10. I Don't Want to Hurt Anyone

“What do you mean he’s not eating?”

“It means exactly what it means, Special Class Investigator Arima,” a nervously shaking staff said, hoping his head would not be rolling on the floor with the glare Arima was giving him.

“How long has this been going on for?” Arima asks, sighing. He had not visited Cochlea for what, two days? And this is what happens? Haise had taken a long time (by his standards) to fully heal his limbs and vocal chords even after forcefully feeding him human meat.

“... It has been like this since he woke up.”

Arima mentally cursed. Right after he had escorted the ghoul Haise was about to eat during the raid to her interrogation by Nagachika Hideyoshi, Arima had to immediately report back to the CCG about Haise's awakening and condition. And he had been stuck doing the loads of paperwork for two days. Haise had caused so much trouble already.

He had remembered the first few months spent with a recovering Kaneki Ken. It was... mortifying for no better word to say. The first few weeks involved a lot of new clothes for the half-ghoul, broken walls and furniture, and a sudden shock at finding his stash of books finished in the week. It had gotten better though, but the ghoul never did like eating humans. He did not like Arima to watch him eat too.

He sighed and opened the door into Haise’s room in Cochlea. “Haise? It’s me, Arima Kishou.” Haise was curled up into a bundle of blankets. The last time he had talked, or tried to talk with the ghoul, he had lashed out, thinking he would hurt him. He wondered about it now.

He walked closer and he could see Haise shivering a little under the blankets. So he’s not asleep. “I’m not here to hurt you, Haise. I just want to make sure that you are alright.”

He saw Haise shake his head through the blankets. “... D-don’t come nearer. I don’t w-want to h-hurt anyone...” It was hard to hear what he said as his vocal chords were still sore from being newly healed, but he managed. He could hear Haise crying and sniffling. It was so similar to the times Arima had to comfort the white-haired male from his nightmares.

Arima sighed once again. “You have to eat, Haise. If not you’ll never recover. Here, eat.” Arima placed a plate on the table beside Haise’s bed. Suddenly he noticed saw a scarlet red stain on the sheets. Was this...blood…? He grabbed the blanket and flung it off Haise, who was curled up with his hands held out next to him on the bed. They were gloved in red. Was he hurt?

Haise trembled and immediately moved to hide his hands, but Arima swiftly grabbed him by the wrists and tugged his hands upwards so he could see them. His charge stared up at him with wide, guilty eyes. Both hands were covered in angry red patches and on his right hand, the fingers...some of them were just stumps. “... Haise...you’ve been eating yourself?” Arima asked incredulously.

Haise looked down, refusing to look Arima in the eye. He was hungry but he would never eat another human.

The room was quiet for a while before Arima sighed and called the medical personnel to bandage his hands and cuff them to the bed rails so that his hands could not reach his mouth.

* * *

The Cochlea staff were getting stress attacks from a very troubled Arima. Kaneki had not eaten any meat since they had last cuffed his hands to the bed railings after Arima had realised he had been cannibalising himself, he had heard. And that was why the awesome Nagachika Hideyoshi was called here to Cochlea once again! Well, he was there almost everyday anyway.

He sounded overly enthusiastic in his mind but whatever. He was a fidgeting mess in real life. How long has it been since he last saw his best friend? Would he be alright seeing him? Would he try to eat him? He only managed to sneak some peeks through the tinted glass to see a sleeping Kaneki lying on the bed. He had been too busy with questioning the ghouls and writing reports to actually go visit his friend.

He did not need to anyway. They had called him there. “Hideyoshi. Haise has not been eating his food. Do you know why?” Arima asked.

“Hahaha that’s sooooo like him! He’s thinks he’s human so of course he doesn’t want to eat another human. He knows he’s a ghoul but he won’t eat human because he is denying that he can only eat human,” Hide replied quickly, wanting to barge into the room that very instant instead of hearing someone’s ramble.

“Is that so? Was it the same when he was just turned into a half-ghoul?” Arima asked. Hide had noticed one very obvious thing about this man. He was super protective of Kaneki. Hide made a mental note that Arima would certainly be his rival in protecting his friend.

“About that... you’d have to ask Touka-chan. I trust you know who she is?” Arima nodded. “Yeah she knows more about Kaneki when he first turned into a half-ghoul. But I’ll try talking to him first before I ask Touka-chan for help.”

Hide straightened his coat after Arima’s approval to go into the room. He opened the door and walked in, staying close to the door so that he would not alert a currently blind Kaneki.

“Uhm. Hey, Kaneki. Long time no see?”

There was silence and Hide was unsure if Kaneki was asleep or not.

“... H-hide? Hide is that you?” Kaneki stuttered, clearly thinking he was imagining things.

“Yep, it’s me alright! Your awesome best friend!” Hide replied, taking a step closer to the bed.

The figure on the bed suddenly tensed and shouted, “NO! Don’t come near me! I’m a monster! I’ll hurt you! I’m a ghoul, Hide, so don’t come nearer!”

Hide gave him a lopsided sad smile, though Kaneki probably could not see it. “Dude. Rabbits die when they’re lonely! You haven't seen me for so long, and you tell me to leave? That’s outrageous, man!”

“N-no! I-I didn’t a-ask you to leave! I uh... uh”

Hide chuckled. “Hahah it’s fine! Ever since I last saw you I got whipped over to the CCG in Germany! I BET YOU CAN’T BELIEVE THIS MAN! I’M EVEN HIGHER RANKED THAN YOU!”

Kaneki’s fear seemed to diminish somewhat as curiosity got the better of him. His head tilted to the side in question. “I’M AN ASSOCIATE SPECIAL CLASS INVESTIGATOR!!!”

“... What,” came the curt reply of the half-ghoul. “That cannot be possible.”

“When your eyes get better, take a look at my badge, little Kaneki. I’VE BEATEN YOU! And guess what. Guess this, man. I can actually speak German! AND YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO SPEAK GERMAN MWAHAHAHAHA!”

Kaneki shook his head in defeat. This seemed so much like the times they sat at a random table, chatting freely with no fear in the world. But this time, it was different. “Hey, so since I apparently was -- I mean, IS -- your best friend, the CCG has put me in charge of you and all the other ghouls you’ve made friends with in the past. So obviously...” Hide stared at the lump of red raw meat on a metal tray placed on the table beside Kaneki. “About the food...”

Kaneki’s face went pale as a sheet of paper immediately. “I’m not eating that.” And he proceeded to hide himself in the many layers of blanket.

“Kaneki?” No response. “Please, you have to eat!” Again, there was no response. Hide sighed and gave up. His friend could be utterly stubborn sometimes.

* * *

“Touka-chan?” Hide peeked out from behind the door. Hide had realised one thing. Touka was as cranky as hell when she was being waken up, so Hide hoped that she was awake.

“Yeah?” came the reply. Hide mentally felt relieved as he opened the door further and walked in.

“Uh,” Hide scratched his head, “You see, Kaneki doesn’t want to eat.”

Touka raised an eyebrow, thinking over each word. Then her face went livid. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! Oh my god! Does that mean he hasn’t been eating? That stupid dumbass!”

Hide gave her a nervous laugh. “Uh... yeah. The CCG tried to fix it but it wasn’t helping so I told them that I would ask you for help. Do you think you can make him eat?”

Touka sighed exasperatedly, stood up without a word and stormed out of the door. Hide followed behind quietly. The silence was shattered in one moment when Touka pushed past the CCG officers, namely the staff along with Arima and Akira, and slammed the door open.

Kaneki visibly flinched.

The following scene made everyone who was observing open their jaws so wide, they could have dislocated.

“KANEKI YOU STUPID DUMBASS!”

“W-What d-did I do?”

“YOU HAVEN’T EATEN A SINGLE _SHIT_ AND WE WERE ALL WORRIED AND I DON’T WANT TO BABYSIT YOU AGAIN, YOU GOT ME?”

“... B-but Touka, they’re human. I’m human too!”

“BASTARD! HUMANS ARE THE ONLY THINGS WE CAN EAT SO SUCK IT UP!”

Kaneki did not see what was coming his way. Pun intended. His mouth was agape to retort but something was shoved into his mouth. It was literally shoved down his throat and Kaneki gagged and choked for his life. With his hands cuffed and unable to help in any way, he ended up gulping the delicious meat down after almost dying from the loss of air.

“You better wake up, alright?” Touka yelled as she jumped on the bed and slapped him. Hard. "I don't care how insane you are, or if you're trying to relive your human self -- I. DON'T. GIVE. A. DAMN."

Arima and Akira who were watching were going to jump in and restrain the female ghoul, but Hide stopped them, giving them an apologetic smile and pointing to Kaneki.

He was in pain. But he was smiling.


	11. Counselling

Akira had been one of the few people to be asked to counsel the ghoul. She was given the choice, of course, and she was not sure if she would want to take it. Yes, she liked Sasaki Haise, the boy who had lost all of his memories and became such a lovely and caring partner. But it was a totally different story for Kaneki Ken.

Eyepatch. Centipede.

The one who killed Amon.

She had hated the idea of being Sasaki’s mentor, but after talking with him and going on lunches together, she could not find it in her heart to hate the innocent boy. Sasaki was not Kaneki. But what happens when he remembers? Would that change him?

She had all these conflicting thoughts in her head. It was no wonder she could get nothing done. Should she go to Cochlea to check on the half-ghoul? She did go to question the ghouls and would occasionally walk by his quarters, but she had not once went into his room. She could not. She could not stay in the same room as Amon’s murderer for more than a second -- or she swore she would suffocate and die right on the spot.

She picked up her phone and called her superior. It rang three times before it was picked up. “Hello?” came the voice. “Akira, why did you call?”

She was silent for a while before she spoke up. “... Arima, I don’t think I can do it. I mean, he’s--”

“Akira, you don’t have to say anything more.”

Arima had hung up. Akira smiled sadly. She was glad that Arima knew her well enough to understand. She would not break into tears in front of her own squad. She would not. She had cried enough for Amon and Takizawa.

She could just hope that Arima would help Sasaki enough for both him and her part.

* * *

“Juuzou,” Arima had a warning tone in his voice. Juuzou shrugged and continued on his way out from Haise’s quarters. “Why did you give him that?”

Juuzou stopped and spun on his heel. “Oh. You mean the knife?” Arima wordlessly nodded. Juuzou had went into the room just a few moments ago and had talked with Haise. From the footage, he could see Haise recognising Juuzou after Juuzou had passed him some money and Juuzou laughing it off. He would have to read Juuzou’s report later to know what that was about. But before leaving, Juuzou had handed him one of his Quinque knives, Scorpion 1/56.

And is was not new that Haise would occasionally hurt himself. And if Haise ever hurt himself with that knife of Juuzou’s, he would confiscate it immediately. It was not like Arima had anything against Juuzou. He actually liked the kid, because it was not everyday a talented investigator comes along and the kid was funny and comical. But he just never knew what the other was thinking.

“Ahh~ Arima-san, I’m not sure if any of you would understand. After all, the only tragedy you guys probably would have had would be losing someone? Or a few people? Hah... People die all the time, anyway. So none of you would know how Haise feels. It was the same with me. You know, after all the pain you’ve been through, you can’t just forget that in a few days. It still stays with me until this day, you know. He needs an outlet for the pain,” Juuzou stated. Arima was taken aback. Almost no one normal dared to talk back to him, but the kid in front of him was never normal in the first place.

“See these stitches?” Juuzou raised his right arm. “It’s a reminder. I want to forget it all, but at the same time, it’s what made me myself! So no, I do want to remember everything I’ve been through. Well, Haise’s a ghoul, so he’ll regenerate. No harm done. Well then, bye~”

With that, the carefree spirit skipped off.

* * *

“Urie, you’re going too.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Urie resisted but was instead flung into the door by three arms, opening it in the process but not without a loud slam. Urie cursed and rubbed his throbbing head. Curse them all. He had the worse regenerative abilities of all of them. That just pissed him more.

The figure on the bed jerked at the sound. “... Urie?” The person seemed to recognise Urie’s voice from the colourful curses that erupted from his mouth earlier.

“Sassan!” “Maman!” “Sasaki-san!” A grunt.

“Quinx? What are you guys doing here?”

“We came to see you, of course!” Shirazu beamed. “Though we weren’t given a lot of time, we prepared gifts!” He walked over to the bed and dumped something. Haise felt the round object.

“Uhm... it’s round... And it has two sprouts on top... Shirazu, it feels like I’m holding a miniature version of your head.”

“You guessed it! It’s an onion Sassan! Don’t cry for me too much, alright? Onions make you cry!” Haise gave an exasperated sigh. The onion stinked horribly of some weird concoction that made his eyes water with the horrible smell. He laughed and tried not to cringe when the onion’s smell wafted into his nose.

Next, Mutsuki nervously placed the object he was holding into Sasaki’s hands. He felt it for a bit before brightening. “An eyepatch? And it’s of good quality too! Don’t you want to keep it? I can control my Kakugan, you know.”

Mutsuki stuttered for a while. “Sasaki-san, I’ve been training and I can control my Kakugan too... And during the raid, I managed to use my Kagune... I was told by Nagachika-san that you used to wear an eyepatch, so... uh... I got you one.”

“Awh, thank you so much, Mutsuki!”

Something else was placed on his hand. He felt it but he had no idea what it was. “Uribo didn’t know what to get you, so we got this for you as his present! Well, it’s not a real cookie because you probably can’t eat it, so it’s made out of plasticine!”

Sasaki paused for a while before a small laugh escaped his lips. “Oh my god that was a good cookie, Kuki-kun!” The others had their mouth slightly agape at their mentor laughing but soon joined in.

“NOW LAST BUT NOT LEAST!” Saiko yelled. Sasaki laughed once again, this time, with only Saiko joining in. (‘Last’ is ‘Saigo’ in Japanese, which sounds a lot like ‘Saiko’) “I got you a game! Because who can survive without games?”

Four hands were raised. “YOU GUYS ARE NO FUN! Anyway, Maman, here!” Saiko handed Sasaki a console. “Get better so we can play it together, alright?” Sasaki smiled and thanked his squad, promising to be back soon in the Chateau.

Little did they know it was all a facade to hide a frightened ghoul.

* * *

The CCG would never ask ghouls for help. Not yet. So they had asked the people closest to Haise to counsel him as his mental state was unstable. Arima knew that all too well, seeing him in the crazed state that was his half-Kakuja centipede. But that did not deter him from helping his ‘son’.

He knocked on the door before opening it. Haise had healed well enough to stand and walk around and do some basic activities, though he was not allowed to venture out of his quarters, something Arima would push for soon.

He was prepared today, his hands holding onto a book. Arima had asked the half-ghoul what book he would want and Arima had went to buy a copy. Of course, since his eyes, for some reason, took the longest to heal, Haise could not exactly read the book. The eyeballs had grown back, but his sight was still awfully blurry.

“Haise, it’s me, Arima. I brought you the book you wanted,” Arima closed the door behind him and walked closer to the bed. Haise managed a small smile, muttered an almost inaudible ‘thank you’, and got up from his bed, feeling around a little for the rails.

The cuffs had been taken away, ever since he started to eat the food given to him, though not a lot. It was sometimes reported that when Haise was hungry, he would resort to biting his own fingers again, or during the nights when he would be plagued with horrible nightmares, though when he could control it, he would try his best not to.

“Haise?” Arima questioned as the boy stood up and wobbled over to where Arima’s voice came from. The white-haired boy instead walked over to the figure, felt around for a little, before putting his arms around the taller, more muscular man.

“... Arima-san... What will happen to me? All the other people came over today and I don’t know what’s happening... Everything’s a mess...”

The bespectacled man smiled softly at the boy and lifted his hand to ruffle his tresses. “Don’t worry, Haise. I will try my best to sort it out. Meanwhile, you have to do your best too and sort out your memories.”

Haise’s lips curved upwards. “Yeah... I’ve learnt a lot about myself. Don’t you think I’m just like the person in The Black Goat’s Egg?”

Arima tilted his head. “You’ve read this book? Then why did you want me to bring it?”

“Ah... I like that book very much. I’ll never get bored reading it. Though... Otou-san, would you read it to me?” Arima tried his best not to turn a light shade of red. He was lucky Haise could not see, but it was different story for the staff observing on the other side of the tinted glass.

“Alright. Where do you want to sit?”

Haise pointed to the wall. Arima took it to mean that he wanted to sit on the floor against the wall, so Arima did just that. Haise walked towards the wall and felt it before cautiously sitting down. He flipped open the book and started to read.

It was unknown at what point in time did Haise lie down, head resting on Arima’s crossed-legged lap, sleeping peacefully with a small smile adorning his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was posted on time on Fanfiction.net, but we forgot to post it here...sorry guys!


	12. Chatwo

Kaneki stayed in Cochlea for a week more before he was deemed healthy, with his eyes healed but still hurting a little, and sort of mentally stable. It was the best they could hope for. After all, who could get tortured, pierced through the head, and forgot his memories, only to be tortured again, remember everything, and not come out mentally scarred? Kaneki was nervous alright. After his usual interrogation sessions, Hide had came over to tell him the ‘good news’.

_“KANEKI! GUESS WHAT?”_

_By this time, Kaneki had stopped guessing. The amount of surprises a single friend could have in just a mere three years was just overwhelming._

_“I’M LIKE YOUR PERSONAL LAWYER OR SOMETHING!”_

_“... What?”_

_“Yeah, ‘cuz the CCG doesn’t trust ghouls as usual, so I put myself up for the job as your spokesman! You have NOOOOOO idea how MUCH effort I put into this man! I’m fighting for your rights now currently. Including the others too. Well, it’s certain they don’t want A and S-classed ghouls running around, but I’ll need your brains when you get released, alright? I need to convince those old men or they will never let you guys see the goddam daylight BECAUSE I AM THE SUN!”_

_“Hahaha alright, Hide! I could never wish for a better lawyer than you! Though you’d spend a century memorising law books.”_

_“Hey!”_

And that was how, on immediate release, he was brought to the CCG headquarters. With handcuffs on. Well, once he could see Hide, things would get much better, he hoped. He would just tolerate this for the time being. But he was so nervous! If he said anything wrong, his friends could very well die. He was driven to the headquarters and was brought to a room at one of the top few floors, no doubt used for highly confidential meetings.

What he did not expect was to see only two people in the room -- Hide and the Director.

“Ah! Kaneki! You’re here! Now we can start the discussion!” Hide beamed from his chair and waved Kaneki to come over and sit. Kaneki was pushed forward, a little too roughly for his liking, towards the chair and he walked over and sat down.

“So first things first before we can do anything!” Hide exclaimed. Kaneki wondered how his friend could be so optimistic in times like this. And right in front of the Bureau Director. “So! How should we address you, sir?”

Kaneki took a moment to register this. Oh, right. He had two names now. Kaneki Ken. Sasaki Haise. He pondered for a long while. Who called him Kaneki? The ghouls and Hide. Ken? Yomo does. Sasaki? Akira, the Quinx (in different forms), the other investigators. Haise? Juuzou and Arima. He could not decide.

“Uhm... well... Maybe you guys should call me like how you used to? I mean, the ghouls know me by Kaneki Ken while the CCG knows me by Sasaki Haise... I guess I’ll respond to anything,” Kaneki decided. It was better than mixing up his name. Washuu nodded in understanding.

“So now we shall be talking about your rights, as a ghoul and as an investigator. Your friend over here, Associate Special Class Nagachika, along with the ghouls allied with you, has put together a report about your life story. We would like to pose this question to you: Are you human, or are you ghoul?” the Director asked sternly. Kaneki liked the Director, though, as the person who gave him a chance to live even after turning into the infamous ‘Centipede’.

Kaneki answered, “I think my answer would be the same as what I’ve told Hinami-chan all those years back, if she included that in her reports. I guess I’m just a human trapped in a ghoul’s body.”

“What do you think of ghouls, then?”

“They’re humans, but with Kagune and Kakuhou, with the only food they can eat being coffee, humans and other ghouls. I’d say they are in every aspect just like humans and I can vouch for that, as I have been human before and is now ghoul.”

Washuu glanced at Hide for a moment before asking again. “What would you suggest we do with both you and the ghouls?”

Kaneki had been told by Hide that this question would arise. Both of them had spent many visits thinking about what they should ask for. Kaneki had decided this a long time ago. He would not run. Not this time. He had done enough running. Kaneki saw Hide nod slightly from the corner of his eye. “I am both a ghoul and an investigator and I have been, as a matter of fact, for the past three years. I do not see any problem with allowing ghouls to partner with us, since I am certain that most of them would follow me if I were to ask them to work for the CCG.”

“What makes you so confident in this idea? You, with Kagune and all, could easily betray us. And I have not received any news of allowing you to meet with the other ghouls yet.”

Kaneki tried not to hide under the director’s gaze. “As I presume, there were reports of me, as Centipede, going around ghoul restaurants and destroying them. I believe that you would have assumed that I was moving with a group of ghouls?” Washuu nodded, hands folded under his chin. “Most of the ghouls I heard that were brought with me to Cochlea were part of that group. Fueguchi Hinami, a girl who I treat like a younger sister. She would follow me wherever I went, no matter how far and how dangerous. Renji Yomo, the man who taught me the basics about fighting for my own self defence, someone who I trust with my life. Kirishima Ayato, a hot-blooded boy, who, once his loyalties are secured, would never betray us unless he has a very good reason to. He’s protective of his sister and Hinami-chan, so I doubt he’d leave them. And last but not least, Kirishima Touka, Ayato’s sister, someone who I trust with my whole life, and someone who trusts me with her life. We would never betray each other.”

Washuu listened carefully, not interrupting as he knew that this was not all that Kaneki wanted to say. “These are all at least A-ranked ghouls, most even S-ranked, so I doubt you’d let them go and neither would I want you to kill them for no good reason. I believe that if we gather a group of ghouls who are willing to work beside you, it would result in much greater firepower for the CCG. My mission, as Centipede, was to make peace with both humans and ghouls, though that did not turn out well as I was working alone. So I want to work with the CCG and end this stupid war between the ghouls and humans.”

“Interesting plan, Associate Special Class Sasaki Haise.”

“Wh--”

“I deem this as a good enough reason to entrust you with your role as an investigator back, though we still have to go through some minor details. Since you have missed the ceremony, I promote you to Associate Special Class Investigator. I hope we will work well together, Sasaki.”

Kaneki was utterly shocked. Actually, there was no word to describe it and shock was just too... shocking. He did not know how long he was in a trance for, until Hide slapped his back hard and gave him a thumbs up.

“Director Washuu, as I have discussed with Kaneki about this, he would like the ghouls to live with him and he would like to take them in as part of his squad, if possible. I will be staying with them, as their spokesperson of sort. Unless the Quinx would also like to be part of this squad, I suggest that they be split up. We are not sure how it would work, but could this squad work individually from the CCG? We would inform you of what we would be planning, but most of the ghouls would not want to do paperwork or administrative stuff. If the CCG needs us, we would be on standby for raids anytime.”

“So this squad of ghouls would come under Sasaki and Nagachika’s authority, am I right to assume?” The two aforementioned investigators nodded.

"Alright. Your requests are acceptable. However," Washuu added, his tone making Kaneki sweat nervously. "All the ghouls must be fitted with a tracker so that we can monitor their movements. I know you speak the truth when you say the ghouls will not betray us, Sasaki, but one can never be too careful. Also, the CCG will provide all the food your ghoul squad will need. We do not want them to accidentally kill someone out of hunger. And lastly, if any of you were to betray the CCG or to harm any human without good reason, we have the authority to kill you on the spot."

Although he did not fully agree with Washuu's conditions, Kaneki nodded in agreement. There was no other way around it, and at least he would get to be with his friends again. “We will not bring harm to any humans. Our investigations will revolve around finding Aogiri Tree,” Kaneki assured. “And I would also like to ask for training sessions to control my Kakuja and improve my skills. My current standard won't match up to Owl's if we face him again in future."  

Yoshitoki Washuu scratched his chin and stood up.

“Very well then. You both are dismissed.”

There was another chateau much like the Quinx’s Chateau, prepared for the ghouls who were still in Cochlea, Kaneki and Hide. What else would Kaneki call that but Chatwo?


	13. Family Times

“Uhm. Hi guys. Nice to see you guys again?” Kaneki greeted the people who came out from the back of the van that arrived at the drive way. He was wearing his investigator uniform with Hide beside him as he waved to the ghouls.

They were slack-jawed.

Hinami was the first to recover and came running over to her big brother like a flash of wind. “Onii-chan! I knew you’d be alright!” she yelled as her small arms encased Kaneki’s torso. Kaneki smiled down at her and patted her head, not realising the glare Ayato was throwing at him.

“Oi, Eyepatch, don’t get so near her,” Ayato growled, though Hinami spun around and glared at him in turn, scolding him about being petty. Who knew Ayato could be scolded by such a sweet innocent girl like Hinami.

“Ken, it’s nice to see that you are doing well,” Yomo emerged soon after, though he did not need to look down much like last time. In the three years that they have not met, Kaneki had visibly grown much taller.

Touka was walking slowly towards Kaneki. And now that Hinami was not hugging him, she practically flung herself onto him, both of them crashing onto the pavement in front of the house. She snuggled her head into the crook of his neck. “You idiot. Do you have any idea how much I’ve missed you?” Touka mumbled.

“Yeah. I know. I’m sorry for that.”

Their moment of peace was shattered when a clutching-his-stomach Hide was sniggering. “You two should totally get a room. Wait. You both already have one! Now all we need is a little mistletoe!”

“HIDE!”

The ghouls glanced curiously at the face they have come to be familiar with. “What do you mean?” Touka asked, still on the floor with Kaneki beneath her.

“Ah, about that, we were about to explain it to you guys once we’ve all settled. So basically, as you can see from this house, it isn’t overly huge but it’s just enough for a good number of people. So we have to share rooms if possible, as Kaneki here is going to recruit more ghouls,” Hide explained.

“More ghouls?”

Kaneki scratched his head. “Yeah. Like Nishiki-senpai. I almost killed him that time when I saw him as Serpent. And maybe Tsukiyama and Banjou, if I can find them.”

Touka replied. “Yeah, shitty Nishiki kept complaining to me about how you kept puncturing him non-stop. He was pissed, alright. And what? You’re seriously getting the most creepy guy in existence and the most useless guy in existence to help you?”

“They’re not that bad...”

Hide coughed. “Alright guys! Time to get you guys settled into our new house! Since I’m human and the CCG isn’t safe with me sharing a room with a ghoul, I get one myself. Kaneki’s with Touka, Ayato is with Hinami, since well, I’m sure you both have been living together in Aogiri?” The two nodded, blushing a little at the mention. Kaneki seemed fine, but Touka was as red as a tomato. “Yomo’s by himself, because I really can’t see him sharing with anyone, but if the chateau really squeezes up, you’ll get a roomie!” He nodded.

They all went in to settle their stuff in their rooms, look at the furniture, take a look around the house and whatnot. They were asked to proceed to the living room, which was nicely furnished with long couches and sofas, by noon.

Kaneki and Hide were to be at the CCG by late afternoon, so they had to hurry up their packing. Once everyone gathered, they explained what they would be doing. “So as Squad G, our goal will be to find information about Aogiri Tree and exterminate as many ghouls as we deem fit,” Hide explained.

“Our goal? You mean our ‘ghoul’,” jabbed Kaneki.

“DUDE! HOW DID YOU GET SO BAD?” Hide shouted.

“Hahaha fine, fine, but our direct contact with the CCG would be via Hide and me, so any requests and actions should go through us, alright? And Hide here is Associate Special Class while I skipped ranks to that too,” Kaneki said, ignoring a grumble from Ayato about how he did not care about ranks. “And the people in CCG mostly know me as Sasaki Haise, though you guys can just call me anyway you want.”

Hide asked, “So how are the rooms and stuff?” The chateau, or Chatwo, as Kaneki had introduced it as, had three stories, with the basement being a training room that was quite deep under, but if anyone did any damage, at least the damage was done underneath and not above ground which would be rather hazardous. The walls of the basement were as per requested made of Quinque steel so that the ghouls could have training sessions. The first floor had basic furnishings like a living room, a study room (also a meeting room and where Kaneki stuffs all his books), a kitchen (for Hide, though the fridge was half stuffed with humans) and the other half was rooms, which have not yet been occupied. The second floor of the house had five rooms, so one had not been occupied.

Of course there were bathrooms too.

Yomo seemed satisfied with everything, Touka just looked happy to be with Kaneki again, Hinami was enjoying herself on the couch but Ayato seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face. “The food. I eat ghouls. Humans don’t give me enough energy,” he grumbled.

Kaneki tilted his head in thought. “Well, survive on the food given first, though I could try to ask the Director again. We also need to submit proposals for any missions we may want to do. Also, as a precaution, we are given these tracker bracelets, though they cannot be taken off or they will inject RC suppressants into your bloodstream.” Kaneki handed them out, some of them grunting in apparent dislike. “I think they have audio and visual trackings too, along with the usual location tracker when we go on our missions just to be safe.”

Hide also added, “And you guys will be given CCG uniforms! But Kaneki suggests that you guys also wear more comfortable clothes underneath so that when you fight, you can just toss the coat somewhere. Also, Kaneki and I will be going for a meeting later, so take care of yourselves and don’t go anywhere unnecessary. Also, the food here will only be restocked after one month SO DO NOT EAT MORE THAN YOU NEED!”

The four ghouls nodded and Kaneki knew he could trust Hinami to keep an eye on a delinquent Ayato. And if Ayato would not behave, he was sure Touka would take up the task of beating up her brother.

* * *

At the CCG headquarters, the two Associate Special Classes entered a meeting room and were greeted by the Director, Arima, and many higher-ups and squads. Kaneki tried not to glance towards Akira’s squad. He knew she did not like him and it just served as a painful reminder that he could have killed the only love of her life. But Kaneki swore that he did not kill Amon. He was still alive when he left the scene, bleeding and battered from the fight. He rid his mind of the thoughts.

“As a newly formed squad made of ghouls and Associate Special Class Nagachika and Sasaki, you will be be carrying out a test mission. Squads will be at your command, but we want to see just how powerful Squad G can be, so working with just your squad would be most recommended,” the Director introduced the mission after both investigators had taken their seats.

He continued, “It will be a raid of one of a ghoul restaurant in the 17th ward. We know that there is a restaurant located there, but we do not know of the exact location nor any additional information. Your squad will be tasked to finish this mission, including the research and the raid on this restaurant. Back up will be a call away, if needed on the raid. Any questions?”

Hide seemed a little shocked at such a difficult mission. Research, reconnaissance and raid? Was the Director out of his mind? Hide glanced at Kaneki to see if he was alright with this. Kaneki seemed confident but raised his hand to speak.

“I actually would like to recruit a few ghouls and one of them, especially, has connections to restaurants. Would it be approved if my squad went on a recruiting mission?” Kaneki requested.

Everyone’s eyes were on the Director.

“Alright.”


	14. Arata

Kaneki stood rooted to the spot the moment he saw the man. Blue hair. The same face shape. How could he not have noticed this earlier? This man was Arata. Kirishima Arata. Father to both Ayato and Touka.

“Sasaki-san! It’s nice to see you again,” the man greeted with kind eyes. “To what do I owe the honour of your presence?” Arata always seemed so jovial when talking to him, which made Kaneki ease up some of his nerves.

“Ah, I’ve requested the CCG to let me train my Kakuja with you, since you are the only Kakuja among the few in Cochlea willing to cooperate. The CCG owes you a lot, I’m sure,” Kaneki told the man, gesturing for the guards to remove Arata’s cuffs and whatnot, so that they could move to the training area which was made out of thick layers of Quinque steel.

Kaneki had shed his outer coat and left his Quinque case in the corner of the room. After all, this training was for him to learn how to control his Kakuja, after which he could focus on using it in tandem with his Quinque. He decided that he'd only use his Rinkaku, because he had guessed that if he used the other three unfamiliar Kagune, he would just go berserk again. He could not remember much of the fight but he had asked for the reports of it and read through it. He hoped nothing would go wrong during training, but Arata could probably use his Kakuja to block any fatal damage.

Kaneki knew that there were investigators observing the training, in case something dangerous happened. Visual and audio recordings were being taken too. But now that he knew who Arata was to his two fellow squad members, he had to pass the message to Arata some how.

“Sasaki-san, when you unleash your Kakuja, are you able to control it?”

Kaneki scratched his head. “No... But my memories have returned and if I’m pressured enough when fighting against a strong opponent, it would come out by itself.” Arata’s eyes widened upon Kaneki’s mention of his memories. “Why don’t you try tiring me out first?” Arata nodded and his Koukaku emerged.

Kaneki’s tentacles were strong. He remembered that he could cleanly slice apart Nishiki’s Bikaku, even though Bikakus were stronger than Rinkakus. But Arata’s Koukaku was on another level, most likely fueled through the many years of feeding off ghoul carcasses. Not only were they holding up against Kaneki’s sharpened tentacles, they were instead shaving his tentacles off.

Which were effectively depleting more and more of his RC cells.

During the three years when Kaneki had no recollection of his previous life, he had managed to figure out how to shape-shift his Kagune into different forms. After reading reports about his squad, he knew Ayato could shift his Ukaku into a Koukaku-like blade.

Perhaps it was fate, because Kaneki’s shape-shifted Rinkaku acted like a Koukaku when wrapped around his arm. Just like Tsukiyama. He guessed some scarring things will never go away.

Arata had never fought Kaneki before, so he was shocked when the Rinkaku tentacles sharpened so much it was like a strong needle that pierced a hole through his Koukaku. Arata had not fought in over... how many years, he could not count. He had not seen the light of day since leaving his children in their house back then. But he remembered how to fight, at least.

His Koukaku healed around the sharpened Rinkaku and he swung his Koukaku back, effectively pulling a very surprised Kaneki off his feet and flying towards a wall. Not before Kaneki was flung beside him, whispering something that stunned him for a while.

“Your children are safe.”

Kaneki was fortunate as he needed some time to recover from the impact of hitting the steel wall, allowing Arata some thinking time.

_Touka and Ayato were safe._

That was all he needed to know.

He had no time to think further as eight tentacles began thrashing around the room. Arata used his Koukaku to block them all, preventing him from seeing Kaneki who rushed towards him and gave him a very hard kick to the face.

Arata smirked at Kaneki. Koukaku ghouls were close-ranged fighters. Kaneki should know that it was dangerous to go near him, no matter about the theory that Rinkaku were stronger than Koukaku.

His Kagune pierced Kaneki in the stomach and through his Kakuhou, hoping that it would not damage the poor boy too much.

That was another bad mistake.

Arata did not know about Kaneki’s berserk healing rate, but the organ was soon fixed, and what came out after were not tentacles. They were centipedes. A bird-like mask emerged over Kaneki’s face, with an eye hole forming in front of his shining red Kakugan. Arata jumped back immediately, slightly marveling at the half-Kakuja in front of him.

He waiting for any signs from Kaneki and knew that if he were to attack the half-Kakuja in this state, he would no doubt attack anything. The mask which had begun forming on his left face slowly grew to cover his human eye.

* * *

Kaneki was in a room. The same one that had haunted his nightmares for the past three years. Checkered floors matted with dried up blood, a red cage encasing the whole area. This was Jason’s torture chamber.

Someone creeped up behind him.

**_Ahh... Finally looking for my power?_ **

Kaneki spun around and stared at the being. Half a mask adorned his face while twin centipede tails swished behind him.

“I’m tired of this game. We are in the same body. Can’t we just be at peace together?”

**_Hahaha. How naive. To think that such a peace loving idiot would want control over his Kakuja. Kakujas are for destruction._ **

“Look at Arata-san. Are you an exception to Kakujas? His Kakuja seems to be listening to him.”

**_I will not accept you. You are different. I want blood, not peace. You are not strong enough._ **

“Then I will just become strong. And I will prove to you that we should accept each other. I’m tired of being overthrown by a blood-thirsty being in my head every time I’m not strong enough.”

The Kakuja was about to lash out, but Kaneki, with at least three personalities who were not blood-thirsty, destroyed the area that was created with their minds. The dimension cracked and split, slowly leaving Kaneki in a blank space of nothingness.

“--an.”

“--aki-san!”

Kaneki registered someone hovering over his face with a mop of blue hair. Touka? No, the hair was shorter. Ayato? No, he did not call Kaneki that. Oh. Arata. Kaneki groaned and push himself up.

“Sasaki-san? Are you feeling alright?” the man asked.

Kaneki rubbed his temples as he felt a growing migraine forming at the back of his head. “Yeah... I think so... I managed to push away the Kakuja side of me. He’s a blood-thirsty idiot.”

Arata chuckled somewhat. “At least you managed to get back to your human self or god-knows-what could have happened.  Most Kakujas are manifestations of one of your many personalities that matches your goal. Like mine was to protect.”

Kaneki scratched his head. “I see. Well, I guess that’s all for today, Arata-san. It was nice sparring with you. I’ll see what I can do so we can spar more often.”

Arata’s eyes shone with appreciation, confirming that he knew what Kaneki was talking about. Kaneki was going to get Arata out from Cochlea. They deserved to be together as a family.

* * *

“Touka-chan! Ayato-kun! Come down to the living room! Someone’s here to see you!” Kaneki cupped a hand to his mouth and yelled up the stairs. There were shouts of acknowledgement from said two teens as their doors soon slammed open.

“What do you want us for, Eyepatch?” Ayato grumbled as he walked down the stairs.

“Just come quickly!” Kaneki yelled.

“Fine, fine!”

Kaneki led them to the open door, beaming with the largest goofiest smile on his face. “Look who I brought! He’ll be joining us in our squad!”

Crickets could practically be heard. Maybe the cawing of the crows outside were too loud.

“D-dad?!” Touka stuttered, unable to fully absorb the fact that the man standing before her was her father. He was almost exactly the same as she remembered him to be, only a tad bit thinner and older. His eyes were still the same.

“Oh my fucking god...” Ayato stood stock-still, totally oblivious to the slight frown from his father when he cursed so casually.

Arata scratched his head awkwardly. “Uhm... Hey kids, long time no see?”

“Holy mother of...” Ayato did not have time to finish his sentence as Touka dragged him by the sleeve and both of their smaller bodies rammed into Arata’s with a big hug.

“My god, Dad, if you ever EVER leave us again, I swear to god I’ll murder you when I goddamn find you!” Touka yelled.

“You have no idea how much shit we’ve went through, alright? You have no fucking right to show your face here!” Ayato clenched his father’s shirt, totally ignoring how his actions and his words contradict each other.

Arata stared down at the two heads of similar blue hair and patted them. They were still the same. They would always be his precious children. “I’m sorry,” was all Arata managed to say before the three started laughing and sobbing at the same time.

Meanwhile, Kaneki stood off a little and smiled at the reunited family. He started to turn and head up the stairs before a fierce voice called him. “Oi, Kaneki! Come back here, you ass!” Kaneki stopped and turned over, staring at a Touka with puffy red eyes but a soft smile on her face. “We’re family, you know.”

Kaneki smiled even wide, if possible, and joined them in a big group hug.

He had a family.

He would protect them all.

Even if he had to perish.


	15. The Creep

“Alrighty! Touka-chan, Yomo-san, you guys are with me to go back to :Re! I’m still pushing for you guys to return to work regularly, but for now I’ll have to accompany you two whenever you go back,” Hide briefed the two. Arata had been ordered to stay in the Chatwo to rest since he had constantly had his Kakuja harvested and moments of rest were rare.

Meanwhile, Kaneki gestured for the others to move to the study for their briefing. “Alright, so since I have no idea what any of you did during the three years that I was in the CCG, I need to know everything you guys have on Tsukiyama.”

Ayato spoke up first. “He’s a creep. I don’t like him.”

Hinami frowned at Ayato before speaking up, “Uhm... I rarely see him because he’s been sick or something, though I often see Tsukiyama-san’s servants, Kanae and Hori, since they are allied with Aogiri Tree. But I do not exactly know where they live,” Hinami said, scratching her chin, trying to wrack her brain for more information.

“Ah, do you know where we could find his servants?” Kaneki asked. The CCG had been having a hard time finding him, even with his stupidly purple hair that would stand out in any crowd. Soon, they gave up on the search.

Hinami answered, “They... should be at the base? I’m not really sure, because they are only allied with, but not exactly part of Aogiri. I think his servants are just trying to find you for some reason. Do you know anything else, Ayato?”

The ghoul gave a grunt. “Don’t ask me... but that Kanae dude likes roses.”

Kaneki’s eyes widened. Not because of the roses part. So Tsukiyama was trying to search for him? That made it all the more easier. Perhaps if he went around parading each ward, Tsukiyama’s creepily sensitive nose would pick up his scent. Hinami had mentioned that he was sick though, so he probably would not be walking around town.

“Hmm...can you think of anywhere else we could find his servants?” Kaneki asked.

Ayato seemed to ignore him while Hinami frowned and thought for a while. “Hori does visit coffee shops to gather information. I heard that she is an exceptional information gather,” Hinami answered finally.

Kaneki nodded. “Alright. That’s a good start. So you guys probably know how his servants looks like, right? I need a description. We will be splitting up today to search for at least one of his servants. We will start here in the 1st Ward.”

It was afternoon by the time the meeting was finished, but the ghouls did not have to eat lunch. Hide’s squad had apparently left for :Re already, so they were alone at home. With nothing left to do, Kaneki and the other two ghouls prepared to search for Tsukiyama’s servants.

“So remember that if you encounter any his servants, you have to try and bring them back here to the Chatwo, alright?” said Kaneki as he opened the door to walk out.

He bumped into something. Or someone.

The thing was not at his eye level, so he looked down to find a brown head below him. It was a young girl. “Uh, hi there. May I help you?” Kaneki asked, while the other two ghouls behind him peeked their head out from behind Kaneki.

The little girl looked up. “Hi there, Kaneki Ken. I wanted to look for you.”

This was awkward.

“Uh, hi there, yes and I’m Kaneki Ken. May I know who you are?”

“Chie Hori,” came the short, unexpected reply. Upon hearing that, their eyes widened. The girl sighed. “Yes, I’m Chie Hori, the person I bet you’re about to go searching for. You’re looking for Tsukiyama, right?”

Alright. This was even more awkward. And exceptionally coincidental. Kaneki opened his mouth to reply but the kid cut him off. “Ah, I know what you want. May I come in?” Kaneki wordlessly opened the door wider to let the small kid come in.

So that was how all four of them were sitting around the couch in the living room.

“Alright. I’ll make it short and to the point. Kaneki Ken, you have to come with me,” the girl said.

“Oi, Hori, how do we know it’s not a trap?” Ayato grumbled.

The girl cocked her head. “Of course it’s not a trap. If it was, Aogiri would be here in this chateau, killing everyone in this house. I just want my model back.”

Ayato was about to argue. Kaneki just sighed and said, “Ayato-kun, it’s not like we can’t protect ourselves. We can meet with Tsukiyama this way too. Alright, Hori-san. Let’s go.”

And it was fortunate that Kaneki could drive and was allowed to.

Tsukiyama did not stay in the 1st ward. He lived in such a massive house that was so far out in a place no one would go that Kaneki never even knew such a place even existed. There were mazes of hallways intersected by pillars of marble. There were rooms the size of a single floor of the chatwo, filled with emptiness. They passed by windows that extended from floor to ceiling, and through them they saw quiet gardens, unused for months. Hori led them through multiple sitting rooms and libraries and dining rooms and studies and aquariums. ("What the hell," Ayato had commented as a gigantic moray eel swam past him.)

"Tsukiyama moved to a room at the far end of the estate. He doesn't talk often and when he does, he's insane," Hori said. "Perhaps he would respond if you were to meet him, though."

"What do you want from us?" Kaneki interjected. He was anxious for the information.

"We want you to talk to Tsukiyama," she said plainly. They stopped in front of an ornately carved wooden door. Hori turned the gold knob and the door creaked open. Hesitantly, Kaneki, Ayato and Hinami ducked through the low door frame.

The room was dark. Hori shut the door behind them. A figure shifted slightly near the far wall. Kaneki sensed Ayato stiffening next to him, ready to jump and fight. He raised a hand to calm him as he walked slowly towards the figure. He had not expected an encounter with the purple-haired ghoul so early on, but now that the opportunity was here, he would not miss out on it.

"Tsukiyama, we need your help." As he neared the wall he could make out the dim shape of a bed and a ghoul sitting placidly upon it, arms resting at his sides and eyes closed. Was this really him? The loud, confident, weird-as-hell Tsukiyama? He was dressed in what seemed to be a plain beige pajamas (he could not really see exactly what colour it was with the horrible lighting in the room) that were the polar opposite of his usual bright attire. Ayato was close behind him as he stood beside Tsukiyama's bed.

"Tsukiyama," Kaneki repeated. He did not seem to be responding. His breathing sounded shallow and ragged.

"This is _freaking annoying_ ," Ayato hissed. "Didn't that Hori kid say he would wake up if you spoke to him?"

"Perhaps it has been so long, he no longer recognizes you,” Hinami whispered. For some reason that struck a chord within Kaneki.

"I wouldn’t have recognized him either, if not for the purple hair,” he said, shrugging.

He peered at Tsukiyama's face. His cheekbones were clearly outlined against his sallow skin, which looked like it had been stretched too thinly over his wireframe of a body. The arms at his sides were bony and awkward. Even his purple hair was unkempt and definitely not the ‘aristocratic’ hairstyle he used to keep.

"Tsukiyama," Kaneki repeated once more, and this time he reached forward to place one hand on a bony shoulder.

All hell broke loose.

The purple-haired ghoul shot up from the bed, kakugan shining in both eyes. An equally purple kagune emerged from below his shoulder blade, twisting around his arm to form an enormous blade. His jaws widened, saliva dripping from his teeth.

" **I SMELL IT! THAT GLORIOUS SCENT!** "

“OI!” Ayato yelled. The three ghouls backed away, kagune immediately emerging to defend themselves. To Kaneki’s horror Tsukiyama began shrieking in delight.

“ **DOLCE~!! KANEKI-KUN’S KAGUNE IS STILL AS RED AS MY HEART~!** ” He leapt forward with surprising grace, given that he had been lying inactive for many months. Hinami and Ayato instinctively attacked, but they were battered away with one sweep of his blade. The blue-haired ghoul grunted as Tsukiyama turned to face him.

“ **DO NOT INTERFERE WITH MY DINING!** ” Tsukiyama shrieked again, taking a stab at Ayato, but the ghoul was too fast for him to hit anything. Hinami came up from behind Tsukiyama, Rinkaku making quick slices for his kagune.

“That Hori kid tricked us,” Ayato growled, muttering a string of curse words.

“Now is not the time to be cursing, Ayato!” Kaneki yelled, ducking as Ukaku shards flew over his head. “Ayato!”

“Fucking hate them all,” said the ghoul, running forward to attack Tsukiyama from close range. Surprisingly he managed to get a hit on the gourmet -- likely he was weakened after months of poor diet. The ukaku shards pierced him in the chest. Hinami took advantage of the moment to slice off the kagune wrapped around Tsukiyama’s arm. He screamed at her, then turned his head to make eye contact with Kaneki, who had so far not partaken in the fight.

“Fuck,” Kaneki cursed.

“ **NOW? OKAY~!!!** ” Despite the major damage his kagune had suffered, Tsukiyama somehow wrestled out of Hinami’s grip and pounced towards Kaneki. The half-ghoul responded without thinking, sending two rinkaku tentacles piercing through the gourmet’s shoulders. Tsukiyama stared at Kaneki for a while, and he had to look away because the purple-haired ghoul’s gaze was just freaking creepy.

“ **TENTA...CLES...I...WANT...** ” said Tsukiyama, before collapsing onto the floor from exhaustion. Kaneki withdrew his kagune and rushed over to his side. He found the ghoul’s RC cells healing his wounds, albeit at a very slow pace. He picked the gourmet up and put his arm around his shoulder, carrying him out of the room. Outside, Hori was sitting against the opposite wall waiting for them.

Ayato stomped up to her. “Damn you! You made us deal with this shit!” he yelled, pointing at a nearly unconscious Tsukiyama.

“Ayato, calm down, we’ve got him,” Kaneki said, but the ghoul continued to rage.

“THE KID FUCKING TRICKED US!”

“Listen to Onii-chan and calm down!” Hinami scolded, whacking Ayato on the shoulder. “We have to get Tsukiyama back to the Chatwo as soon as possible so we can’t waste time waiting for you to stop raging.”

The ghoul frowned. “Fine,” he huffed.

Kaneki turned to Hori. “Alright, we’ve gotten Tsukiyama, would you come back to Chatwo with us and tell us all you know?”

“Of course, if your blue-haired friend here is fine with it,” she smiled. Ayato sneered.

The four set off back to Kaneki’s car.

“ **...NEKI...EAT…** ”

“Shut up, Tsukiyama.”

 


	16. Where the Shit Have You Been

The next Sunday, Kaneki had gone down to :Re with his squad of ghouls on the pretext that he was out to gather intel -- he didn’t think the CCG would approve his true motive of relaxing and spending more time with his ghoul family when he was supposed to prepare for the raid. Well, he supposed he could still gather intel if he met anyone he had known in his past life, before he became Sasaki Haise.

Only Tsukiyama and his uh...minions? Servants? Were not there with them, because Kaneki had sent them off to investigate the ghoul restaurant. He doubted anyone would be comfortable with the purple-haired male wanting to eat anyone in sight, or himself, in particular. He shivered at the thought of being the Gourmet’s next meal.

Before leaving the Chatwo, they, of course, took off their investigator coats, mostly because they wanted to help Touka and Yomo with some of the work during peak hours without getting any undesired coffee stains on their coats. But the most important reason would be to prevent any outrage at the cafe due to doves in :Re.

Lunch hour was busy, and Kaneki had to wonder how Touka could manage this shop all by herself (with Yomo). She had to rent the area, buy coffee beans, buy furniture, and do many many other things that Kaneki did not know about running a shop. He had to marvel at her wonderfulness and secretly wondered what a life with her would be like... She would be the perfect housewife but Kaneki knew that she’d rather beat him to a pulp a thousand times over than be called a ‘housewife’.

The doorbell rang sometime mid-afternoon, breaking his chain of thoughts.

A hooded person walked across the floor space of :Re, banging his hands onto the counter while totally ignoring the shop’s customers. That basically meant Kaneki and his squad, while Touka and Yomo were manning the counter.

“Oi, shitty Touka, where the shit have you been?!”

Kaneki froze. His mind was speeding as fast as a Shinkansen. _Oh my god am I hearing what I’m hearing? It must be a coincidence, right? People must use ‘Shit’ all the time, right?_ Kaneki leaped up from his chair and spun around.

“Nishio-senpai?”

The hooded figure gave a grunt, “Hahhh? Who the he-- KANEKI?!”

They stood in shock for a moment. Maybe an hour but no one was moving. The tension could be felt in waves. It was an eternity before Nishiki started stomping his way towards the younger male. “KANEKI! I’M NEVER GOING TO FORGIVE YOU FOR STABBING ME AGAIN!”

“Wha- No! Senpai! I didn’t kno--”

A punch.

And then Touka started laughing, throwing a package of some of :Re’s existing stock of food at Nishiki’s head.

“Oww!! Shitty Touka!”

“Shut up, shitty Nishiki! Listen, we’ve been looking for you for ages and since you’re here, will you join our CCG squad?”

Shit happened.

“WHAT THE _FUCK_ , TOUKA? Did I just hear you ask me to join the CCG bastards?! DID KANEKI FINALLY SCREW YOU UP?”

“You piece of shit! Hear me out!”

Kaneki ignored the innuendo, still staring mouth agape at his blonde, bespectacled senior.

“No way in HELL am I helping the bastards!”

“You are going to FUCKING HELP whether your shitty self likes it or not!”

“SHITTY TOUKA!”

“Nishio-senpai! Touka! We can talk about this!” Kaneki jumped in, after recovering from the initial shock and the shock from the punch. It seemed that Nishiki’s punches had not weakened at all in the time he had not seen him. Rather, the punches were so strong that Kaneki would have broken his nose, if not for his extraordinary regenerative abilities.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP AND STAY OUT OF THIS!” Kaneki awkwardly slunk back to his seat and watched the two argue it out. After another five minutes of senseless yelling, Ayato got up and slammed his fist into the counter.

“OI!”

Touka glared at Nishiki and turned to her brother. “What? And don’t you fucking dare damage the table.”

“Your arguing is annoying the hell out of me,” he snapped at his sister. He turned to Nishiki and scowled. “Just shut up and join the fucking CCG you orange shit. I don’t want to hear anymore of your _crap_.”

“Who the fuck are you, shorty?!”

“SHORTY?!” The hotheaded ghoul growled and grabbed Nishiki’s collar. “I’LL KICK YOUR A--”

“Stop.” The bickering ceased the moment Yomo had suddenly spoken -- they hadn’t heard a word from him all day. If it was any other person, the three would have instantly lashed out again, but Yomo was feared. As long as you were from Anteiku, you respected the experienced ghoul. Even Ayato showed some regard for him. He hadn’t been Yoshimura’s right-hand man for nothing, after all. Touka went back to work behind the counter, Ayato huffed and sat down, while Nishiki folded his arms and sat on the opposite side of Ayato to listen to what Kaneki had to say. He retorted, “Why should I? Aogiri is a damn of a pain to deal with.”

“We had hoped you’d help us out of friendship,” Kaneki immediately said, hoping that Nishiki had not forgotten all the fun-filled days that they shared together in Anteiku.

“Friendship? Hnn.”

“Nishio-senpai. You’re a great fighter. You’ve been collecting information about Aogiri, we’ve heard. You kill the ghouls who’ve given you information so they would stay off your tracks. You’re rated SS by the ‘CCG bastards’.”

“Look, I didn’t go into hiding for nothing. If I join your squad I’m going to get targeted by Aogiri again, and that’s going to be shit.” Nishiki paused. “I don’t want Kimi to get targeted, either.”

So that was his reason.

“Nishio-senpai, if you join our squad, I promise that Kimi will receive the best protection the CCG can offer from Aogiri. Or, well, what they’re willing to offer -- but we’ve been looking for you for a long time, and we need your skills in our squad. Please.”

Nishiki was still unconvinced.

“Would it help if I say that you two would share a room?”

Nishiki looked as if he was going to curse again. Then he sighed, and pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

“Fine.”

* * *

The meeting was a small one, considering that they were going on a raid. It consisted of only a few squads, namely Kaneki and Hide’s ghoul squad, Juuzou’s squad and Akira’s squad, with the four quinx accompanying Akira as their temporary mentor.

“Hideyoshi, Kaneki, let us hear the raid’s proposal,” the Director said as his chin rested atop his folded hands.

Hide cleared his throat before starting, “As you may have already known from our reports, we have recruited a number of squad members after Kirishima Arata. They are Serpent, Nishiki Nishio, and Gourmet, Tsukiyama Shuu, along with his servants.” Disbelief could be seen in the others’ eyes. I mean, ghouls that they have been searching for the longest time? And this squad had just casually recruited these S-class ghouls?

“And Tsukiyama-san here, as the Gourmet, has many connections and thus we have discovered the exact location of the ghoul restaurant located in the 17th ward. The restaurant is quite large, having an auction once every fortnight, the next auction being tomorrow,” Kaneki continued.

The Director interrupted, “Will you be raiding it tomorrow?”

Kaneki nodded. “Yes. We will not need anything much. Just our squad should be enough.”

“The Quinx will go in with you,” Arima said, ignoring Kaneki’s protests. “So will Akira’s squad, but her squad will be stationed around the building. This decision is final, Haise.” Kaneki closed his mouth and quietened.

Hide raised his eyebrows a little but continued on. “Here’s the proposal. Tsukiyama-san will get me through the guard as his ‘guest’, or rather, ‘meal’, while the others will be stationed on different areas of the auditorium. The moment the highest bidder is confirmed and when I walk back in, Kaneki will jump down to protect me while passing me my Quinque, while the rest kill as many ghouls as possible. Our aim is to slaughter every ghoul in the restaurant.”

The Director questioned them, “You, with the exception of Hideyoshi, are all ghouls. Why would you kill one of your own brethren?”

“Those ghouls are the worst. Utterly sick and disgusting,” Ayato answered while looking outside the full length glass window. There was a butterfly fluttering outside. He must have been really really bored.

Kaneki made an apologetic face. “I swear by my life that we will kill these ghouls without hesitation. May we have permission to move out tomorrow?”

The Director surveyed the squads assembled before him and nodded.


	17. The Raid

Hide would be lying if he said he wasn’t scared. I mean, like, dude. He was going to be surrounded by ghouls trying to sell him or eat him. Okay, he trusted Kaneki and the ghouls in his squad, but what if they did not make it in time? Oh wells, no time to think about that.

The platform was raised with him blindfolded and gagged and tied up and kneeling, a ghoul standing right beside him.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Introducing today’s biggest catch! An Associate Special Class Investigator!” He heard the applause, followed by shouts and whispers. His earpiece and quinque had been taken away, unfortunately, when he was ‘ambushed’ by some ghouls. He hadn’t expected his earpiece to be taken away, honestly, but he guessed these ghouls were smart.

“Since this is such a rare catch, our starting price will be... FIVE MILLION DOLLARS!” the irritating voice boomed over the loud cheers.

“Five and a half million!”

“Five million seven hundred thousand!”

“Six million!”

“Seven million!”

If this was what people meant to be ‘wanted’, it was totally not what love should feel like. Gosh when would these ghouls shut up...

“Ten million!”

Okay, that totally snapped him out from his thoughts. A fucking ten million. He never knew he looked so hot. Or cute. Or handsome. Oh whatever, he just wanted this to be over. He could almost feel all the stares and their saliva dribbling down his face. Urgh.

“No more bidders? Going once! Going twice! Sold to that handsome man over there!”

Okay...so there are gay ghouls out there too. What has the world even come to...He was led away from the stage and that was when he heard screams. Yay, he mentally cheered.

Something, or someone, if he did not know better, landed right beside him. His blindfold was sliced off the same time as the ropes and gag. He bent over to cough a little, fortunately and coincidentally avoiding all of Kaneki’s deadly swings of his Kagune. He saw the blood of the ghoul that was with him splatter onto the ground.

“Ewww, dude that was so gross! The blood could have splattered all on me!” Hide whined, finally able to speak.

“Be glad that my Kagune didn’t hit you. Come on, let’s go! Here’s your quinque,” Kaneki’s voice was muffled behind the mask that Tsukiyama had provided for all of them. The auction hall had four entrances, enough for all of them to cover and kill any ghouls who tried to escape.

Ayato would be stationed at the main hall, trying to kill off as many ghouls as possible. Touka, Kaneki and Saiko at the main entrance. Tsukiyama and Yomo at the left entrance with Mitsuki. Hide, Hinami and Shirazu would guard the right entrance, while Nishiki and Arata were with Urie at the back entrance,.

Hide could hear the screeches of ghouls falling from their stands as Ayato fired his shards, occasionally using his modified kagune to slaughter those that were on ground level. He was doing a lot shaving off the number of ghouls that had the possibility to escape. Akira’s squad was waiting outside in case any ghoul somehow got past Ayato, but Kaneki had told them that as a new squad, they should try to finish it as a squad only while protecting the Quinx.

After picking up the Quinque that was thrown at him, Hide ran towards the exit he was assigned to, following Hinami’s lead at slaughtering every ghoul in sight.

* * *

Kaneki had long forgotten how skillfully he could fight with his Kagune. He missed it, if he would dare say so himself. However, training sessions with Arata and Arima had helped him regain his previous skill. After passing the Quinque to his friend, he ran off to help Touka kill off the escaping ghouls, slashing his red tentacles about while running to shave off more of the ghouls.

When he reached the entrance, he found wave after wave of ghouls rushing to escape. Touka was doing a good job killing them off and Kaneki wondered if she had been practicing at night with Yomo over the past two years. However, Saiko was just waving her Rinkaku about, barely even touching any ghouls. She was panting and sweating and... Kaneki was too embarrassed to say anything else. He supposed this was the limitation of Quinx. They would never attain the power, regenerative ability, stamina and anything ghoul. They were fakes after all, but Kaneki could not say much since he himself was a half ghoul. Furthermore, Saiko had never done much... work. That would have to change soon though, since Kaneki was not their mentor anymore.

Some ghouls were already passing Touka. “Just continue, Touka-chan! I’ll get them!” And he did, his eight tentacles effectively puncturing multiple targets. These ghouls were weaker than he thought, or maybe he had gotten stronger. Not only did he use his Kagune, his Quinque was out too, slashing through any close enemies, saving time whipping his Kagune back. He ordered, “Saiko. Don’t do anything. Just watch. You’d only become extra weight and I don’t want you to be in danger.”

She could only stand still and stare.

* * *

Mitsuki knew that he was weak. He was the weakest in his squad after all, the last one to gain control over his Kakugan, or even be able to use his Kagune. But after the previous auction raid, he had been able too, and that gave him confidence.

However, looking at the two males in front of him was just... demoralising. Bikakus were supposedly the overall best Kagune right? Then why was it that he could not fight, could not even move, let alone kill a single ghoul?

The purple haired male was a Koukaku, supposedly the hardest Kagune to use, yet he was swinging around the purple appendage like it was a piece of paper. He yelled as he severed a number of ghouls with one swing of his Kagune and it seemed more like he was dancing than fighting. He was graceful and Mitsuki had never seen ghouls in that light.

The white haired male was not as loud as the previous, but he could tell that he was powerful. He had been in the academy and learnt a whole lot about ghouls. But ghouls surprised him over and over again. Ukaku types have the least stamina and least firepower, but why is it that this ghoul was able to fire shards after shards, even using close combat and using his Kagune in close range too?

The Quinx had gathered the available files of the squad members of Kaneki’s new squad and had read through all of them. These were Raven and Gourmet, both well known ghouls.

In such power, Mitsuki could only feel helpless.

* * *

_Boom. Boom._

Shirazu’s stamina was going down rapidly. Had he hit anything? Shit, no. Dammit! He doubled over and started panting.

“Shirazu-kun, if you’re out of stamina, just go over to the wall and rest. We will handle it here,” Hide inclined his head slightly and said to Shirazu. He was careless for a moment but he knew Hinami was there to protect him. They trusted each other, after all.

Hide’s Quinque was a Koukaku one, and unlike Kaneki’s Yukimura 1/3, it was much heavier. Hide was not an Associate Special Class for nothing! Over the past few years he had gone through vigorous training and this was the result. He guessed humans will never be as powerful as ghouls though.

Watching Hinami was like talent slapped right into your face. Kaneki had told him before that Hinami was one of the most talented ghouls that he knew, but he had never seen her fight. Her raw talent with two Kagunes was exceptional, and after joining Aogiri Tree and training, she had improved drastically.

Her Rinkaku were as accurate and deadly as a snake. And none of the ghouls could even get near her, not like they tried anyway. Her Koukaku had developed more and it was much stronger than before, developing into a useful armoured shell for protection. Whoever knew such a young girl could be so dangerous.

“Haha... This is so ironic,” Shirazu panted. Their first impression of Rank One Sasaki Haise was useless, powerless and lame. He did not deserve to be their squad mentor. He was a ghoul.

But look at him now. Had Sassan been this powerful? Had they been mistaken all along?

There was nothing he could do other than to look on.

* * *

The back entrance seemed to have the least number of ghouls, which made Urie very unsatisfied. He needed to kill more ghouls. He needed more power. Urie had killed a few ghouls, but the majority of them were either slaughtered by Serpent, or that Arata.

“Do you need a rest? (Stop killing them. I’ll do it.)” Urie shouted over to them over the havoc of running ghouls.

“Nah.” “I still have a lot of stamina left. Don’t worry about me.”

Urie gritted his teeth. He himself was draining his stamina. Swinging a large blade was hard work, after all. It took him so long just to kill one of them while the other two could just slice them in half with a single strike. It was even more insulting that Serpent was sitting on top of a cardboard box, his Kagune the only thing moving while he relaxed.

“Shit! Urie, look out!”

Hu--

He saw a shadow block him before he heard the impact.

“Ahhh I should have known!” Nishiki yelled again as he plunged into the smoke. As it cleared, Urie coughed and looked up to see Arata in his Kakuja, standing right in front of him. “Hey, kid, watch out. No wonder Kaneki-kun instructed me to be here,” Arata sounded like he was smiling, though Urie could only see a dark greenish blue armour.

“Gahh! Should have known that the tougher ones would escape by the back!” Nishiki cursed as he leaped up from the ground, missing a lash to his head. “Arata-san! Just protect that kiddo over there! He’ll get killed!”

“I can protect myself! (Shut up. I’m stronger than you.)” Urie hissed.

“Oh yeah? Whatever! I’m going to deal with these shitheads!”

And Nishiki was not known as the SS rated Serpent for nothing. He didn’t belong to any ghoul groups, but fended for himself, even going as far as to fight other ghouls. Urie had not been able to even help due to another swarm of escaping ghouls.

Arata was also fighting his own fight while protecting him. He did NOT need to be protected. He was strong. He was powerful. He could kill them all.

He was proven wrong yet again when the ghoul that Serpent was fighting fired an array of shards, one slicing a gash through Urie’s torso. Urie gritted his teeth and knelt onto the floor. Curse his regenerative abilities. They were too slow.

Compared to the two ghouls in front of him who did not have a single scratch, what was he exactly?

A useless pawn.

Weak.

 

 


	18. The Weak

“Did you hear the news?”

“The new squad actually...?!”

“I can’t believe it!”

“Is that even possible?”

It was only a day after the raid when the news spread. Just two squads, nine plus four members in total, raided a whole restaurant with no casualties. It was a feat completely unheard of. It was said that the backup squad, who had waited outside the restaurant, did not even see any ghouls. The smaller squad of four was essentially useless.

Nine to a whole restaurant of ghouls.

And that was not all that was heard. Amongst these nine, only one was a human. The other eight were made up of one half ghoul and seven S ranked and above ghouls. Ghouls helping the CCG? Impossible.

There was a great uproar in the CCG when the squads returned from their raid in less than three hours and had their report submitted within the next hour. The top brass were shocked to no end as they read it. Cooperation and camaraderie in ghouls had been unheard of, so this was very new to them.

The squad was given a few days off (not like they needed it), though Kaneki and Hide still had more reports to do on their individual team members and their skills and personality. They were horrified to be surrounded by heaps and heaps of CCG officers the moment they stepped into the building, people pestering them for answers about this and that.  

* * *

 “Hey, when do you think Maman will come back? I miss his food...” the girl pouted.

“Don’t be picky, Saiko. Sassan isn’t coming back. Either we can work together and prove we can stay as a squad or in the next few weeks we’ll be split up. The last raid didn’t help either,” Shirazu muttered, picking at his vegetables. Mutsuki had been cooking their meals and even though they did not want to discourage him, it was not even half as good as Kaneki’s.

Mutsuki lowered his head. “Sorry about the food...”

“Hey, no, it’s not a problem at all! At least we have something to eat, don’t we?” Shirazu immediately said. He gobbled up a few carrots to prove his point, even though they tasted a bit too rubbery. Mutsuki had a low enough self-esteem as it was and it would not do any good to lower it further.

“I wonder if Maman’s happy...”

Dinner continued in silence, with frequent clink sounds coming from Saiko’s direction as she began to pick at her food as well. Shirazu, not wanting to hurt Mutsuki’s feelings, forced himself to eat, even though with every spoonful he looked more and more like he wanted to throw up. Mutsuki had eaten half way through his food before he decided it just wasn’t worth it. Only Urie continued to eat, and when he finally finished he tossed his cutlery onto his plate angrily.

“If you guys are so worried and sad, why don’t you work harder? (I need to get stronger. You guys can do whatever you want.)” Urie muttered. “We can upgrade our Kagune to the next level. I already talked to Doctor Shiba about it but I need Sasaki’s approval.”

All movement stopped and the three gapped at Urie, mouths wide open. “Urie-kun! I didn’t know you cared for us. But really, yeah, I think that’s a good idea. I mean, look at Sassan. It’s the least we can do to be more helpful, right?”

* * *

 “Hai-- Kaneki, how was the raid?”

“Arima-san, it’s fine if you call me Haise. It’s my name too, after all,” Kaneki said as he stared at the other white-haired male. “The raid was fine, but not as smooth as I had expected because our formation was disrupted due to the involvement of the Quinx. Why did you insist for them to be part of the raid?”

Arima smiled slightly. “They were becoming arrogant. In addition, the Quinx are still your responsibility until they have been assigned to new squads. It’s your duty to protect them too.”

“Yes, I understand,” Kaneki said, feeling a twinge of guilt as he realized he had been neglecting the squad he was supposed to care for. He removed his coat and plunked his Quinque at the side of the room.

“It seems that the director was quite satisfied with the raid’s results. It’s not confirmed yet, but there will be another raid coming up soon, based on the intel from your squad. Do you know about the Aogiri base in the fifth ward?” Arima asked, also shedding his coat.

“Yeah. We will be sending in teams to investigate on that piece of information. I have a feeling that the person who gave us the heads up was from Aogiri. Ayato and Hinami are going to gather some contacts while Tsukiyama and Chie Hori will do that they can. Their numbers should be quite significantly lower now. It would be advisable to advance in soon,” Kaneki suggested.

“Alright, I will make sure to tell the director about that. Anyway, let’s move onto training,” Arima finished off the discussion.

Kaneki had these practice sessions on Saturday nights fortnightly (as the other Saturday he spent training with Arata), so that he could rest on Sunday if need be. Yes, it was THAT tiring.

Kaneki sat down on the cool Quinque steel floor. “Koukaku today?”

“Yeah.”

Kaneki signed and lowered his head. He focused and tried not to release his Rinkaku. Focus on the Koukaku. It was above the Rinkaku. The shoulder blade. Move all the cells there. His eyes were shut tightly close and sweat was beading on his forehead. The Koukaku and Bikaku were hellishly difficult to unleash. Those Kakuhous were right by his Rinkaku and more often than not, it was his Rinkaku that emerged instead. He had tried releasing his Ukaku before too, but it had been so powerful that the moment he unleashed it, he had gone berserk. Arima had to knock him out hard enough to leave him unconscious for three days.

If Kaneki had to describe what it felt like to unleash a Kagune, he would say that it was similar to -- well -- pooping, really. And he had four anuses on his back, controlling which hole opened and pooped out his Kagune.

... Gross, but an accurate description nonetheless.

Since his Rinkaku was his original Kagune, it was of course the easiest to unleash. “Ugh...” he muttered. He felt his RC cells poking at the skin on his back. He controlled it carefully, letting it slowly pierce the skin, wincing at the sharp pain which was fortunately lesser once the other RC cells started healing it.

The Koukaku was nothing like the Rinkaku he was used to. It was not smooth and scaly and flowy. It felt like hardened spider legs emerging from his shoulders. It was like a knife slicing through him from the inside out. Okay, he totally preferred his Rinkaku right now.

His koukaku was on the brink of fully emerging from his shoulders when a stabbing pain seared through him, and the world turned black.

* * *

“Ow ow ow ow...” Kaneki groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. His shoulders hurt. No, scrap that. His whole body ached. Bad.

A hand slipped under his back and he winced. The firm hand lifted him slightly and passed him a cup of liquid that smelt like blood.

Oh yeah, now he remembered. He must have lost control again, which meant that he was back at the Chatwo, either unconscious from a severe loss of RC cells or because Arima had knocked him out quite badly. He knew that as this had happened quite a few times before.

“A...Arima-san?”

“Yeah, it’s me. You’re back in the Chatwo so go rest for the Sunday.”

Kaneki nodded and finished the glass of blood to replenish his supply. Suddenly, there was a ruffling of sheets and Kaneki promptly got smacked in the head. Stunned, Kaneki turned to his left and found a pair of blue eyes looking back at him. “If you don’t be more careful, I’ll kill you, you got that?” Touka joked. She was always got pissed at him for being so reckless every time he returned to the Chatwo injured or unconscious. It was reassuring to know that she cared.

Kaneki laughed.

“Yeah. I know. Don’t worry, I’ll get stronger.”

 


	19. Akira and Amon

“Kaneki Ken.”

“Akira-san.”

Her eyes narrowed. She sighed. “You seem to have gotten a hell lot more stubborn.”

“Yep... So, to what do I owe the honour of Akira-san appearing at my doorstep?”

She answered, “Let me in. I want to talk to you about something.”

So that was how they were seated at the Chatwo’s dining area, with Kaneki serving Akira a glass of water. “So?”

Akira did not answer for a while. How could she anyway? She had ignored the boy for the past few weeks, not even going to visit him in Cochlea after he almost died. All because of a grudge she had against him for murdering the most precious person in her life. Ghouls were horrible for killing humans. They slaughtered for food, she understood, but most even killed for the fun of it. She could name a number of them.

But having met Nagachika made her doubt everything she had learnt growing up. Ghouls and feelings did not fit into the same sentence. She would deny it. But if so, how did this squad of Kaneki’s work together to bring down the whole restaurant of ghouls? Her squad, including herself, had been on standby surrounding the whole building only to hear shouts of murdered ghouls before finally seeing the silhouette of the whole squad walking out unscathed, though Urie seemed to have been stabbed.

Unheard of. She did not believe it. But the evidence was right in front of her.

Which lead to the conclusion based on the squad’s intel that Amon had a chance of being alive.

“Kaneki Ken...”

“Hahaha, you can still call me Sasaki, you know! I told Arima-san the same thing. They’re both my names,” Kaneki interrupted.

“... Okay... Sasaki, I’ll cut to the chase. Do you know anything about Amon?”

Kaneki’s eyes widened. “Amon? The last time I saw him, I sliced off his right arm...” Kaneki scratched his head apologetically. “But I swear, he was not dead. I would never kill a human on purpose.”

Akira raised a suspicious eyebrow. “Is that so... Thank you for your help. I shall le--”

“No! Akira-san, I believe some of my squad members have intel on him. I heard that Amon is alive, though living as a half ghoul just like me,” Kaneki quickly stopped her. “I can get Nishio-senpai for you. Wait here!”

Akira had no time to respond as Kaneki rushed up the Chatwo stairs.

She heard a door open, then a shrill scream, then a surprised scream, then an angry scream before the door slammed shut once again. Akira rubbed her forehead. “I wonder what that was all about...”

Then Kaneki came running down the stairs, eyes covered, trembling slightly and sat down on the chair. He face-tabled the table. “Uh... Sasaki?”

The male groaned, rubbing his eyes. “I think I regret giving NIshio-senpai and Kimi-san a room... Oh my god I’m so scarred... What did I see, tell me that this is a horrible nightmare... Nonononono get that image out of my mind oh my goodness no...”

Akira’s head tilted to the side. “What happened?”

Kaneki shook his head violently. “No, no nothing... Nishio-senpai will be down soon...” Then he flopped onto the table, promptly finishing the conversation while he seemed to be recovering from some kind of shock.

He heard footsteps coming down the stair and immediately stood to go back up to his room, totally blushing when he walked by the blond. The blond scowled at his squad leader and the said boy quickened his steps up the stairs.

“Okay, why are you here?” Nishiki asked grumpily being interrupted from his... activity. He did not give Kaneki enough time to tell him about what Akira wanted before slamming the door in his nose and changing at breakneck speed.

Akira narrowed her eyes at the blonde, not knowing what to say to him, and ever cautious of the ghoul. “It’s about... Fl--”

“Hah? Floppy? That righteous bitch?” Nishiki interrupted, a leg propped on another chair while head resting on his palm.

Akira paused, narrowed her eyes further and continued, “Amon Kotarou, to be exact. I want to know more about him.”

“Pfttttt, alright, let me get this straight. You, one of those assholes of an officer who utterly HATE ghouls, want to know more about Floppy! And not just the information type, it seems. What, he’s your boyfriend or something?”

Akira chose to remain silent.

Nishiki raised an eyebrow and stopped laughing immediately. He must have hit home. After all, he knew what it was like to love a human back as a ghoul. He sighed. “Fine, I’ll tell you more about him. If you love him so much, you must be dying to know how he is... Well firstly, one thing I can tell you, is that your boyfriend is gay.”

“WHAT?” Akira did not bother composing herself. Huh? Amon was gay? After the kiss that they shared... No, he pushed her away. It could be true that Amon was gay but--

Nishiki started laughing once again. “NO! NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL! HAHAHA You humour me so much, woman! Amon isn’t that kind of gay! He’s NOT into males! It’s just that... WHO THE FUCK USES A FUCKING GAY ALIAS LIKE FLOPPY? I mean, the only people I know who are into rabbits are that stupid Touka and bitch Ayato!”

Akira’s mouth was wide open. It could have reached the floor even. THE STUPID GHOUL ALMOST MADE HER HAVE A HEART ATTACK! She swore she was going to murder the thing in front of her, still doubled over laughing.

After an eternity, Nishiki finally calmed down. “Ok, ok. He’s bisexual actually -- as in, bye don’t touch me.” Akira glared daggers into him. “Alright! Sorry! Sorry! Okay, back on track, Lady! Floppy, if my latest sources are correct, has been travelling from ward to ward every week or so. He knows that the CCG and Aogiri is after him. But, when the CCG goes on big raids, he’s sure to turn up. Whaddaya know? He may be stalking you during the raid.”

Akira glared a thousand more daggers into the bespectacled man. “Fine! Well, that just proves the point that he was from the CCG. Many ghouls don’t believe the rumours but I know better. Even Touka knows, since she has seen him before as Rabbit. He was made into a ghoul. A half ghoul, just like Kaneki.”

Akira’s mouth stretched into a line. She thought that she had come to terms with the fact that Amon was dead, but after recent reports and the testimonials of this squad, she had some hope that Floppy was indeed Amon. Then she had believed that Amon had turned into a ghoul.

But her facade was breaking. She had always hated Sasaki from the beginning, almost cursing Arima, even, for pushing the responsibility of the ghoul he had saved onto her, the ghoul that had supposedly killed Amon. He was not human, no matter how many times he had justified himself to have once been human. But he could never become human ever again. He will forever, in her eyes, be a ghoul.

Now, Amon too? Could Akira still love Amon? She utterly despised ghouls from the bottom of her heart, but she loved Amon too. When the time came when they were to go against Floppy, would she be able to wield her Quinque against Amon? Would she?

A hand waved in front of her face.

“Oi, earth to blonde lady!”

She flinched. “Huh? I’m sorry, please continue.”

“As I was saying, Amon will no doubt be at the raid we will be conducting soon. We will most likely face him. He may even die.”

Akira was holding in her tears. Why did it have to be him? Why? Amon was the bravest, most loyal officer she had known. He did not deserve to this fate. A small voice in her head whispered, “Then how about Kaneki Ken? Did he have a choice?” Akira mentally replied with a small no.

Her head bowed, one because she was going to be asking for a favour. Two, because she was fighting her tears not to flow down her face. She could not bear to lose him again, after knowing that he was alive. She started speaking, “Please, when you see him, can you spare him? I can’t bear to lose him again! You can understand, can’t you? Since you’ve lost Sasaki and thought him dead. Plea--”

“Shut up and let me finish, Lady. Since when did I say we would kill him? Kaneki isn’t as cold hearted as you CCG bastards. He has a heart. A more human heart than any of you organism-killing species. He plans to invite Amon to join the CCG once again.”

Akira’s head shot up. They wouldn’t kill Amon? Really? This time, the tears would not stop flowing any more. She whispered a small ‘thank you’ before rushing out of the door.

Maybe ghouls weren’t all that bad.

 


	20. Reconnaissance

“I wonder where they are...” Ayato grumbled. He was wearing a disguise, and so was Hinami. They could not afford to be recognised by anyone from Aogiri Tree, after all that had happened.

Hinami rolled her eyes. “It’s only been five minutes and we were early. Eto could be delaying them.” Ayato grumbled more and nodded, resting his head on the small round table, letting his furred hood cover his whole face. Hinami suppressed a giggle. Ayato could be so adorable at times, since he often acted way older than his age.

The doorbell to the coffee shop rang. They were not at :Re, but instead at a quite unknown coffee shop. Why? Because they were meeting some dangerous people and could not risk getting Touka into trouble.

Hinami’s eyes shone with recognition and she poked Ayato in the ribs. He jolted awake with a loud angry ‘Ow!’. The two heads turned towards the source of that groan and walked over to their table, immediately recognising the voices.

The female newcomer sighed and sat down. “It’s such a relief that you are alright, Hinami-chan!” Miza squealed as she practically strangled the smaller girl, unknowingly receiving a glare from Ayato under his hood. The other male simply nodded as a greeting. Miza continued, “So tell me what happened to you! I didn’t hear much from Eto, ‘cuz I think she’s hiding something. Where have you guys been? Why can’t you come back to Aogiri?”

Hinami glanced at Ayato. Ayato was being the stubborn teenager he was and did not want to speak. So Hinami answered, “You see... Do you know about Onii-chan?”

Miza nodded immediately. “Kaneki Ken, right? The Eyepatch ghoul who was part of Aogiri before I joined. He was dead, no?”

Hinami shook her head. “No! Onii-chan was actually alive and was working for the CCG as his memories were wiped out.” Miza was about to retort but Hinami continued, “You knew that Eto took in a prisoner from the Auction Raid, right? And that she was always in that torture chamber? The prisoner was Onii-chan. They made him remember everything and they experimented on him. He’s my Onii-chan! I had to--”

Miza hugged the girl once more, not noticing the crocodile tears that Hinami was faking. As Ayato liked to put it, being such a fucking young-looking (and cute, though he did not admit it) girl, she could easily give anyone the stupid puppy dog eyes and their heart would melt into a goddamn bloody puddle. “Hinami-chan, you don’t have to explain yourself anymore. I know you had to save him so I will not question your choice any further. But are you alright? Did the CCG catch you?” Miza quickly stopped Hinami, not wanting her to cry any longer.

Ayato grumbled under his hood. “Nah, we escaped when they raided the place. We’re living low right now and we can’t go back because Eto would no doubt try to shut us up. She thinks we gave info to the CCG...” Hinami nodded to back Ayato up. This was their cover if anyone from Aogiri were to find them as they were not supposed to blow their cover as investigators from the CCG.

Miza had that pitiful look in her eyes. Goal. Hinami asked, “Thanks for the concern. But may we know where the current base is at? That way, we can avoid that ward and Eto.”

Torso immediately piped up, “It’s at the 23rd ward. It’s weird how the new base is so near to Cochlea...”

Miza nodded angrily. “Yeah, that Eto! What is she thinking! I tried asking Tatara, but he ignored me! Maybe they think that the CCG would never suspect our base to be so near to that ghoul jail, but because of that, our number of six hundred thousand ghouls has been reduced! It wasn’t a lot but if we want to go against the CCG, numbers is key you know!”

Hinami and Ayato filed that bit of information away. So the data they had been given was obviously fake. They would have to report this to Kaneki later. “How long are you staying there before moving to the next base?” Ayato asked, faking worry in his eyes. It was logical to ask them where the next base would be so that they could once avoid Eto’s radar.

“I think for two weeks at the most? We still need to rest from the CCG’s previous raid but yet we know that the CCG is hot on our tails, but there is news about the next base being in the fifth ward. But the most exciting thing was that there was even news that a ghoul restaurant was wiped out by the CCG’s new squad!” Miza exclaimed.

Torso nodded and continued, “But we don’t know how true it was though. There weren’t any survivors. The CCG sure is getting stronger. Have you two heard any information on that?” Of course it was information for information.

“I heard about that too,” Hinami spoke in a small voice, not wanting any of the people in the shop to eavesdrop. “And an even weirder rumour was that the squad was made up of ghouls! Can you believe that? Ghouls going against their own species?”

Miza tilted her head. “Is it the new Quinx squad?”

“No... Apparently they were full ghouls,” Ayato muttered.

Miza gasped while Torso’s eyes widened at the news. Miza quickly stood up and grabbed Torso with her. “Oh my gosh, I better relay this information to Eto. Well then, stay safe and I hope to see you two soon! Bye!”

Ayato and Hinami made sure that they were further than where their noses could smell them before standing up and leaving the premises.

* * *

The blood splattered in a horizontal line. “Ahh~ Tres bien! I haven’t had this feeling of blood in such a long time!” Tsukiyama had his arms spread wide, one covered by his Koukaku in spirals. “Oh?” he stared at the body. “Did I kill him? Whoops. It’s fine, right Kanae? Since these are ghouls.”

Kanae nodded and stared at his master in wonderment. He was finally back to his own self.

“Kanae, we better report back to Kaneki about what we found, then! Let’s head back!”

Kanae scurried after Tsukiyama who was still in deep thoughts.

“So, Monsieur Banjou is still somewhere out there...”

* * *

Snap.

Snap.

Snap.

“Heehee... Ghouls can be so stupid at times!” the little ‘rat’ whispered to herself as she balanced her way through the rafters. Of course, she was not that stupid to sneak into the Aogiri base by herself, knowing that ghouls had a very keen sense of smell. Instead, she was stalking a few of the higher-up ghouls in Aogiri.

She almost giggled at the thought that Aogiri had such stupid higher-ups, namely a blonde who donned a white suit. Obviously it was Naki, the most pea brained ghoul she had ever met.

He was at a coffeeshop with two of those equally dumb white suits, drowning all this anger and sadness into his coffee, it seemed. “Ahhh, Gagi and Guge... Nooo why them???” Naki had wailed. At least they were smart enough to enter a coffee shop ran by ghouls with only ghoul customers at the time. The white suits tilted their head, as if mourning too.

“And then we moved to that stupid ward because of stupid Eto! Now more of them are gone! How many more stupid ghouls will have to die because of her?” Naki wailed once more. “We should get more people and go against her! Ahhhhhhh! My tears won’t stop flowing!”

Chie Hori pricked her ears to listen. Ah, so some people were angry with her, which also explained how Ayato and Hinami were able to meet up with some of the executives. On another note, this Naki ghoul must really be an imbecile. There was a word called ‘rebel’ instead of ‘go against’.

“But there’s hope, isn’t there?” Naki questioned no one in particular. The white suits gave grunts. She had always wondered why they could not speak... “That doctor Kanou said he could bring them back! He’s our saviour! Gagi and Guge will still be alive! Maybe that’s why we moved to that dangerous ward? Ahhh, I can’t wait to be together with them once again!”

She smirked. Dumb ghouls, giving out so much information once drunk on coffee. Could they even get drunk? She only knew fermented blood could, as seen when Tsukiyama had parties. She should find that picture of him trying to chew grass after downing about ten glasses of the strongest fermented blood.

Ah whatever. She was done here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: [Kato] Hey guys! Firstly, we would like to thank all of you readers for your views/reviews/favourites/follows/hits/comments/subscribes/kudos/bookmarks for our story (since it’s on both Fanfiction and Archiveofourown3)! We are very encouraged by you all and be assured that we will continue this story! However, due to our upcoming exams, we would most probably be on hiatus for a week or two since we have already ran out of our chapter pool D: Thanks for all the support so far and we will come back as soon as possible to continue this story!
> 
> Also, on another note, for anyone wondering why we both keep making spelling ‘Chatwo’ instead of ‘Chateau’, here is the explanation. In Chapter 12: Chatwo, Kaneki made a pun that the ghoul’s chateau would be called the Chatwo, because the Quinx already has one and this would be his second chateau, so it would be Chateau Number Two, or Chatwo. Hope that clears up everything!


	21. Date

To say that it was an eventful day would be an understatement. And well, the day started off better than any other could.

Kaneki had finally gotten a day off. This time though, he took it gladly, after being peer pressured into it by Hide, who kept calling him a nerd and a bookworm (and even a masochist) because he ‘liked’ the work at CCG. He did not mind actually, but months and months of repeated paperwork and investigations had taken their toll on him. And he was NOT a masochist. And so, he decided to take a break.

There was one problem, however.

What was he going to do for the whole day?

Hide had gone off already, and so had many of the other squad members, with Nishiki of course taking the chance to go somewhere... private. He did NOT want to think about that incident ever again, and he knew Nishiki was not dumb enough to do it again without the door locked. Maybe he didn’t dare to do it in the Chatwo either, since he never heard anything.

Okay, that sounded SO wrong. He was NOT a pervert either!

It was very early in the morning, the usual time for him to wake up, since his irritating body clock had so nicely woken him up even before the first rays of sunlight hit the earth. He guessed he might as well finish some work and swing by the CCG to submit them, since the deadlines were nearing and he was not a procrastinator unlike a certain blonde.

He reached the CCG at 7am sharp. He had some files to submit here and there, and the last stop was at Arima’s office, at the top of the building. The elevator ride was long. The door opened soon after, however, and he walked out and just walked into Arima’s office.

Two years of being his ‘adopted’ kid allowed for such rudeness, though of course, Kaneki being the kind guy he was, already memorised Arima’s schedule and knew that he was in his office, bored as usual, or that’s what he always said. He scolded his mind again for coming up with such a ‘perverted’ thought. HE WAS NOT A GODDAMN PERVERT!

Arima glanced up from the paper he was reading at the intrusion, eyebrows raised, the silent ‘what are you doing here’ echoing throughout the room. Kaneki scratched the back of his head and dumped the stack of papers on his desk.

“Arima-san, here’s the review for every squad member that you requested!” Kaneki said, almost immediately turning and leaving due to the very awkward tension they still had between them.

Arima did not look at the papers but instead still had his eyebrows raised at Kaneki. “Don’t you have the day off?”

Kaneki continued scratching his head. “Uhuhuh yeah, but I wanted to hand these in first since I have nothing to do.”

“Why not go on a date, then?”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“Really, why not?”

Kaneki’s jaw could have very well dislocated and flew out of the window for all he cared. He’d grow back anyway but that was besides the point. “WHY WOULD I?!”

“It quite obvious that you love her and she loves you back. You two have been sleeping in the same room for more than a month too.”

“B- BUT IT’S SO RUSHED!”

Arima ignored Kaneki until the younger man sighed. Well, he... could... go... on a date. He had nothing to lose right? Other than his manhood if Touka were to punch him there... “Alright, fine, you want grandkids don’t you? Any suggestions then?”

Arima adverted his eyes straight away. “Beats me. I’m not gay.”

“And what does that have to do with anything?”

“I still don’t have a wife.”

Kaneki’s jaw dislocated once again. “Ugh!” he yelled frustratedly and stormed out of the office.

* * *

Kaneki was grumbling to himself when he bumped into Akira accidentally while on his way out of the CCG. “Haise, don’t you have the day off? Still hard at work as usual?” Akira asked. Kaneki stopped and glanced up, not realising that he had bumped into her. “You better rest, you know, since there’s going to be lots of raids coming up.”

Kaneki chuckled, “Yeah I know, but Arima suggested that I bring Touka-chan out for a...”

“Date?”

Kaneki had an uneasy smile on his face, so Akira took that as an affirmative. “Y-yeah, so do you have any suggestions?”

Akira had her finger to her chin in deep thought. “Not really, since he almost ended up dead.”

Useless! Kaneki mentally groaned.

“You could get drunk and confess?”

“GHOUL’S CAN’T GET DRUNK!” Kaneki yelled. He stormed off again.

* * *

He returned to the Chatwo but stayed in the living room since he did not want to wake Touka up. She could be feisty as a Touka could be... He even shuddered at the memory when he had woken her up only to be pinned onto the cupboard a moment later due to her kagune shards. Must have been a nightmare.

He called Hide.

“Yo Kaneki! Watcha doin? What I’m doing? I’m eating a hamburger! Too bad you can’t eat any, right?” the blonde blasted from the other side with food in his mouth.

Kaneki’s day just got even more downcast with the salt Hide had so gladly dumped on his wounded stomach. “Hi there, and I did not need to know that you’re out eating hamburgers.”

“Ahh~ The more you sigh the longer your face will be! Now who doesn’t want to keep a chubby little Kaneki as our pet? And don’t worry little hungry hamster! We’ll try baking human meat one day so you may get to try human steak!”

Kaneki almost puked at the thought. “I ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH FROM TSUKIYAMA!”

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, continuing straight on before Hide could interrupt once again. “I was thinking of bringing Touka out for a date...”

“A WHAT?!”

“A date.”

“Okay, continue my lovesick friend.”

“I’m not lovesick!”

“I bet your little brother must be vying for attention.”

“Hey!”

Hide laughed across the phone. “Alright, I get it, continue!”

“Uhm... Any suggestions?”

“If you’re going on a bookshop date again, I think it’s gonna end in a disaster! Pft hahaha imagining Kaneki so lovesick! Hahahah, this is hilarious! Okay, tell you what, why don’t you give her a banana and see if she get’s it? If it works, call me and I won’t come home tonight!”

Kaneki promptly slammed the phone shut.

* * *

It was around noon that Kaneki finally picked up the courage to open the door to his room. Touka should be up by now. And indeed she was as he saw her coming out of the bathroom to  greet Kaneki.

“Did you go to work again?” she asked, since she knew Kaneki had the day off and thus the whole squad decided to plan their own day too. Kaneki nodded. “Pftttttttt, I think I’d really believe Nagachika that you’re a masochist for work after all!”

“NO I’M NOT!” Kaneki whined. It was now or never. “Okay, to prove it to you, let’s go on a date!”

Touka’s eyes flew wide open, mouth agape. “A d-date?”

“Yep. Unless of course, my Touka-chan is too embarrassed to go on a date with lil’ me,” Kaneki jabbed.

That promptly earned him a flattened nose and gave Touka time to change while Kaneki lied on the bed, hoping that his RC cells could heal the damage fast enough.

They were out of the door soon after, Kaneki still groaning from the pain. “So where to?” Touka asked.

“Uhhhhhhh, on a normal date, we'd go to a restaurant, but unless we want to go to a ghoul restaurant, we should decide on another place,” Kaneki suggested, totally NOT wanting to become Tsukiyama’s main course again.

Touka visibly blanched at the thought. “Yuk. Okay, so where?”

“Uhm, you decide?”

Touka shot him a glare and huffed.

Kaneki gave her an apologetic look. “Okay, how ‘bout we stop by a bookstore first?” Kaneki asked. He knew Touka had developed a liking for books ever since he left, and he knew that since moving to the Chatwo, they haven’t had much time to move their books in, so Kaneki had been craving to go to the store again to restock his book collection.

Touka’s eyes lighted up at the thought and they left for the nearest bookstore.

* * *

For normal people, a trip to the bookstore would last at most an hour, but apparently Kaneki and Touka were in no ways ‘normal people’. The moment they stepped into the bookstore, they went to find the books that they wanted, conversing all the while as to which book they liked, why they disliked another, recommendations for certain books...anything related to books.

They even talked about book paper, and that said a lot.

They spent a good four hours there in the bookstore, before happily and satisfiedly walking out. Kaneki was carrying the whole mound of paper, being the gentleman that he was.

“That was fun,” Touka smiled, missing her books from :Re. “Where to next? The night’s still young.”

And Kaneki almost choked on air at her last statement. ‘DOES SHE EVEN KNOW HOW SUGGESTIVE THAT WAS?!’ Kaneki mentally screamed. AND HE WAS NOT A HORNY PERVERT! He shrugged, “How about the park? It’s near here and my arms totally need a rest.”

“Stop being a wuss.”

But they did head there in the end.

* * *

“So... How’s CCG life so far?” Kaneki started the conversation once they sat down on a wooden bench somewhere in the middle of the park.

Touka frowned, “It’s not as bad as I thought it would be, but it’s quite restrictive. I mean, some people treat us nicely and I do appreciate them for it, but I feel like we’re just caged birds living in a room of snakes.” Touka fidgeted while playing with her safety bracelet.

“Yeah, I know, but I think we’ll get used to it. I hope they do, too, since I really believe that both humans and ghouls can work together. If there were more Hides, I’d have more headaches but I think the world would be a much more peaceful place.” Touka nodded in agreement.

There was a small pause for a while before Kaneki continued, “You know, after today, we may not get to have that many moments together so I thought that we should enjoy our off day for once, and at least make it memorable. I’ve got a feeling that there’s a lot of things coming our way and none of them will be pretty.”

Touka looked at Kaneki, who was staring up at the skies, barely seeing any stars due to the light pollution in Tokyo. “Yeah... I’d miss times like this. Who knows when we’ll be free together again.” She looked up at the sky too, hoping to at least see a glimpse of a few stars, maybe even spot some constellations. “I feel like we’re about to wage a war. Things are going to get so much worse from now.”

Kaneki gave a small sound of agreement.

She smiled melancholy at him. “Just... stay safe, yeah? If not I’ll beat you into a pulp the moment I set my eyes on you and then you can die!” she jabbed him in the ribs.

“Ow!” Kaneki exclaimed before Touka started a tickle battle between them. They were fortunate that no one was around to witness such an act.

At one point in time, Kaneki tumbled off the bench and his phone promptly rang when it dropped out of his pocket. It was a call. From Akira.

Kaneki fumbled with it for a few moments before answering the call.

Touka waited patiently, but slowly got more nervous the moment Kaneki’s eyes went wide with fear. Something bad must have happened.

He hung up soon after and looked right at Touka, his face a total mask of seriousness.

“Urie's been captured.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: [Kato] 戻ってきました！Aren’t we awesome (please say yes)? Both me and Aelin just finished our exams two days ago and we wrote this chapter straight away! A bonus long chapter for you wonderful people because we feel happy and FREEDOM IS OURS until next year, that is >.


	22. Childhood Friends

The bag Tatara was dragging along the ground reeked the stench of a CCG investigator. It was almost laughable at how the boy had walked straight into their trap just a stone’s throw away from Cochlea. To his credit, he did manage to kill one of her underlings — not that she cared — but the Quinx idiot didn’t take long to subdue. As per instructions, the trappers disposed of his quinque by eating it and ripped out the kagune he had embedded below his shoulder blades. Pathetic. The CCG was stupid enough to believe that their investigators could ever wield a kagune successfully against a true ghoul.

They reached the end of the hallway, where Tatara pushed open a door into a dimly lit room. There was a metal table splattered with dried blood. Behind it stood a ghoul wearing a nearly blank mask, except for the wide creepy grin printed on it. He was already prepared with his cart of medical tools. She skipped over happily and picked up a syringe filled with a light red serum, while Tatara chained the boy onto the table.

“Noro, Tatara, let’s have some fun~!”

* * *

“Sen, this isn’t fun anymore!”

The other ghoul merely laughed. “Come now, Eto. This place is crawling with human vagrants. Easy meals for us. We have to farm, don’t we?”

“But Sen, it’s V’s territory…”

“No one cares about V, Eto. We’re doing this to survive. Always remember that.”

Eto didn’t have a choice but to follow along. She was just nine years old and had been an orphan for as long as she could remember. She was lucky that Sen had came along and found her as an infant in an underground sewer in the 24th ward, a dangerous ward where V was carrying out assassinations. It was Sen who had raised her from infancy. It was Sen who had taught her how to use her kagune. And it would be Sen who would help her to survive. She was a mother figure to her, since Eto did not know her own biological parents. Even living in this world, Sen treated her kindly, and so did her son, Noro. What sort of street hardened ghoul would take their child to a bookstore that was teeming with humans and even teach them to hunt?

The place they came to was a shady alleyway that ran next to a run-down metalwork factory. True to her word, there were more than a few beggars sleeping under makeshift shelters of cardboard and newspaper. As dark as it was, Eto was sure that none of their prey could see the three figures perching on a ledge of the factory.

“What now, Sen? I could pick off the one in the corner.”

“No, Eto. Let’s call this a training, alright?” Sen laughed again. “We’ll kill them all to practice both you and Noro’s skills and we even get enough food to last us a few months!”

“But —“

“Don't worry, they’re just humans. I don’t smell any investigators around here either. Let’s go, Eto!”

With that said, the ghouls leapt off the ledge. A woman screamed when they landed in the middle of the alleway.

Noro already had his Rinkaku out.

Even after so long, Eto still could not get used to the idea of killing. The blood splattering across her face was sickening, but knowing that the red liquid was not hers was even more disgusting. The human screams would cut off halfway, their faces still twisted in warped expressions of shock, their soulless eyes staring right back into Eto’s black and red ones. What was worst were the looks of horror that were directed at her every time she took a life.

But Sen and Noro had always told her: To eat is to live. As ghouls, this was the only way to survive, even if it meant killing the innocent. It was the way of life, the food chain, in which ghouls are at the top and humans their only prey.

It didn't take long for the two young ghouls to take out all the humans in the alleyway. As usual Noro had killed off most of the humans, while Eto had barely brought herself to kill two of her own prey. She was trembling slightly and trying to calm herself down while the other two ghouls piled the bodies up, thirteen humans in all. It was a stockpile that would last them a long while if they were conservative with their food.

"H-how will we bring it all back?" Eto asked.

"Hmm. Noro, stay here to keep watch with Eto and make sure she doesn’t get hurt, okay? I'm going to find a cart or something similar to pile the food in." Sen disappeared into the shadows.

She returned not long after with a very old but large cart, where they proceeded to make a mound of human and escaped back to their home using the underground sewers.

* * *

It was raining.

Eto and Noro had taken shelter in the dilapidated apartment they called home. Their mother, Sen, had gone out before the bad weather had started and still had not returned. She was probably being held up by the storm, Eto supposed, though some part of her couldn’t help but worry that something bad had happened to her. V didn’t prowl the 24th ward as much as the 22nd, but in the few days past, the three ghouls had noticed a sudden spike in ghoul deaths in their ward. Sen wouldn’t let her walk around without Noro at her side anymore.

Her foster brother seemed to have noticed the worry on her face and silently passed her a slab of meat to cheer her up. But Eto declined and instead wandered over to a cracked window, staring out into the pelting rain. The gloom of night combined with the shadow of the rainclouds left the entirety of the 24th ward in complete darkness.

“Noro…”

Said ghoul looked up from the bloody arm that he was chewing on and blinked at her once.

“Where…where do you think Sen is?”

He shrugged and continued to eat, his long ponytail swaying with the movement.

“Aren’t you worried?”

Noro didn’t respond. Eto sighed and went back to staring out of the window.

“Mother is strong.”

Eto spun around. Her foster brother had spoken three whole words, three more than he would usually say. He only ever spoke when he felt strongly about something.

“I know, but she has never stayed out for this long…” If Sen was strong, wouldn’t it be even more worrying that she hadn’t returned yet? No, it couldn’t be the rain holding her up. Her foster mother was in trouble. She felt it. Maybe a powerful ghoul had come to the 24th ward, maybe…maybe V had come to the 24th ward. Wait, no, it couldn’t be, Sen had told her that no one cares about V and Sen had told her it would be safe and Sen had told her not to worry and Sen had —

Eto rushed past Noro and out into the pouring rain.

“Sen? Sen? _SEN_!” she shouted into the rain.

She was in a panic. She ran to all their usual hunting places within their ward. The rain had washed away any trace of her foster mother’s scent, so Eto was completely clueless as to where Sen could possibly be. Midway through her search, she had heard Noro’s footsteps as he followed her silently but briskly around the 24th ward, watching over her like Sen had told him to. At other times she’d appreciate his company, but his presence only made Sen’s absence even more striking.  

Several hours passed, and it was nearly midnight when Eto had finally scoured the whole ward. Sen was nowhere to be found. It was as if she had never existed. The other ghouls in the area may have caught sight of her, but Eto didn’t dare interrogate any of them. 24th ward ghouls were hostile and would probably cannibalise her rather than help her.

Noro sat and turned to look at her. “Try the alleyway.”

That made a total of six words he had spoken today. A record feat ever since Noro had gotten older. Eto’s eyes widened and she stood back up, running towards the 22nd ward with Noro at her back. What would Sen be doing all the way over there? Had she tried to get more food for her children?

When they got to the alleyway however, there weren’t any signs of a fight either. Eto felt her eyes water slightly.

Suddenly her foster brother grabbed her shoulders, angled her towards the south and tapped her ears. From that direction wafted up the faint sound of a woman’s angry yells. Eto’s sharp ears immediately recognised the voice and she shrugged off Noro’s grip, bolting headlong towards Sen’s position. She ignored his shout of worry — that made seven words — and only thought of how she would finally be able to see her foster mother again.

“Sen! Why haven’t you come home? Noro and I were so worried, we came out to look for —“

Blood, dark maroon blood, splattered across her face in a fine spray.

Before her, a dark-haired ghoul fell to the ground, a glowing blue quinque pierced through her back.

The attacker withdrew his quinque from her corpse, his act of murder screaming at her to defend herself.

The investigator wiped his weapon clean of bloodstains with a grey rag, and it didn’t take long for it to get bloodied again.

But that blood was his own, blood drawn by a half-ghoul, a half-ghoul whose own foster brother was too fearful of her wrath to help avenge the death of their beloved mother.

It was the first time Noro had ever seen a half-kakuja.

* * *

Tatara came into their life just a week after Sen was killed.

He told them he was from the Chinese ghoul organization Chi She Lian. Well, he _was_. The Chinese CCG had begun an operation to exterminate the entire organization, and a countless number of his former comrades had been killed in the sweep. Tokyo was a haven for ghouls, he had heard, so he escaped to the city to prevent his own death. He ran to the ghoul-infested 24th ward to seek solace from the investigators' ruthless attacks.

He looked to be the same age as Noro, perhaps a year or two older. Eto and Noro had bumped into him wandering their ward at night with a red mask covering half his face. He was gaunt and half-starved, already covered in wounds from a street fight with a hostile ghoul gang that saw itself as ruler of the 24th ward. In his silent way, Noro had welcomed him to their run-down apartment. Eto only stared at him morosely as he recuperated in their home, and looked away if he ever turned his gaze onto her. She had no idea why Noro had taken Tatara in, especially after their mother had died. She wasn't ready to accept someone new in her life.

But for whatever odd reason, her foster brother seemed happy with the new addition to their family, and Tatara seemed to be satisfied with this new arrangement too, so she supposed that the Chinese ghoul was here to stay. Eto would just have to do her best to accommodate him. Heck, she guessed he could be useful in helping them to survive in the unfriendly world of ghouls. Neither she nor Noro had ever heard of Chi She Lian, but to be a member of such a large organization had to mean that Tatara had to have some talent in fighting. Maybe they could even use his experience as an ex-member of a ghoul organization to set up one of their own, if they ever felt up to it.

Important parts of her plan, Noro and Tatara would be. Important parts of her plan to destroy the entire human race.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: [Aelin] こんにちは！Thanks for the positive feedback for this story so far guys! Kato and I really appreciate it :) Speaking of Kato, she’s been really busy recently, so I helped to write the bulk of this chapter :3 Sorry for the delay! 
> 
> [Kato] Yo guys! Doesn’t Aelin write chapters much better than I do :D (I’ll make her write more in the future hohoho) Anyway, thanks, and we will try to write more chapters soon!


	23. Experimentation

“It was nice talking with you, Yukimura-san.”

Tatara nodded his head towards the young flaxen-haired ghoul before taking his leave beside Eto and Noro. That was the seventh ghoul they had recruited that cloudy day in the 24th ward. All seven were pathetically weak. The strongest ghouls had already formed their own gangs and they’d have no chance in getting them to join their newly created organization. They didn’t even have a name for it yet. But there was one other thing all seven ghouls had in common.

A burning hatred for the human race.

It was unsurprising, of course. Eto needed ghouls who would be fiercely loyal to their cause. Yukimura, for one, had been orphaned from an attack by Tokyo’s Commission of Counter Ghoul. Years back, the CCG was barely a threat to even the most feeble ghoul (unless that ghoul was facing off against a Washuu, in which case, he was screwed), but with the modern invention of quinques, the humans had rejuvenated their global resistance against their only predator.

Ever since Sen’s death,  she had been imagining day and night of childish plans for revenge. Not that revenge was something a child should be thinking of, but at only nine years old, all Eto could think of was getting ‘lots of ghouls’ to kill all the humans. No organization, no actual plotting, just a child’s pure resentment of the species responsible for killing her mother. Her brother Noro had been having less extreme thoughts, being older and more rational, but he loved his sister too much to deny her his help.

Thus Tatara joined a family that was hell-bent on vengeance. Help them with their plans he would, since he owed them his life, after all.

* * *

Their little organization grew to tenfold of the first seven they had recruited within its first year. The next year, it had grown to a hundred. The following year, two hundred. The year after that, five hundred. By its fifth year, the trio were leading an organization of nearly eight hundred ghouls.

Being the pioneer batch of recruits, ghouls such as Yukimura had long since perished. Infuriatingly, the only reason he had been killed was for the CCG to obtain the entire series of Yukimura quinques -- not only slaughtered brutally like his parents, but by the same blue-haired lad that had murdered Sen. Eto’s hatred for the human race grew stronger each day. She was a half ghoul, as Sen had told her, so she believed that she had the right to hate any race.

Eto had also thought of a name for their group of ghouls, the name of a tree, a fitting name for their organization which was spreading the branches of its power. It was tall and had many uses, having fragrant flowers of greenish-white. But under its beautiful facade, this tree is an aggressive, invasive weed in the warmer parts of North America. Its seeds spread easily and this tree competes with many other trees to thrive. Aogiri was what it was called in Japanese.

A fitting name, wasn’t it?

Noro and Tatara had no dispute over the name issue, since they had left it up to Eto, who had a wider vocabulary than either of them. Occasionally, using the saved up or stolen money from their victims, Eto had bought books to teach herself the whims of their language, and the other two males had seen her inert literary potential. They were proud of her.

Over its first five years of growth, Aogiri Tree had gained its name in the ward. Other ghoul gangs had been competing with them for resources, recruits and space and it seemed like many gangs had combined to go against their organization. It was no big deal, since Eto proved true the rumour that half ghouls were far more superior than normal ones and could finish off entire gangs by herself. Eto, Noro and Tatara even took the liberty to train the lower ghouls to at least fight with their Kagune properly for self-defence, and honed those with talents to fight. They now had a fighting battalion composed of three quarters of their group.

The rest, who begged to join for protection or whatever reason, were in charge of other things, like clean up, food, security, reconnaissance and other simple tasks that their soldiers did not do. It was a neat group where planning was done ahead of time. It would no doubt advance into a formidable group to be reckoned with.

However, V soon came to know of the existence of competition in the wards, and they sent small groups after Aogiri, nothing that they couldn’t handle with all the firepower and training that they had received. Obviously, they were angry that its influence was being challenged.

The trio were confident that Aogiri Tree could stave off any squad V sent after them.

They didn't expect V to do anymore than that.

* * *

It was another usual cloudy day in and the ghouls hoped that it wouldn’t rain anytime soon. The group that Eto, Noro and Tatara were in was on reconnaissance duty, so it was a small squad with not much firepower. As the leaders, the three of them had decided to tag along to monitor their work.

Their squad of six were ambushed by at least a hundred ghouls. The other three ghouls were practically useless without much fighting experience.

“You three, run back to headquarters and request for more back up,” Tatara ordered the three thoroughly frightened ghouls. They stood rooted to the spot. “NOW!” They scrambled away.

A ghoul from V whipped out his Kagune, trying to slaughter the three escaping ghouls, but Tatara blocked their attack quickly. They were in for a long battle.

* * *

The scene was bloody. The backup had not arrived and Eto could only imagine that they were dead, murdered by another team from V. No matter how many ghouls they killed, even more came to take their place. The waves of enemies were never ending.

Noro was practically immortal due to his unnaturally rapid healing, so even when his arm was ripped off, it grew back within ten minutes. Tatara was fighting off horde after horde of ghouls, while Eto, who had recently learnt to control her Kakuja for long periods of time, shaved off a large number as well.

Eto was frightened. Three versus a whole army? Impossible. It was certain death.

She could feel her RC cells declining rapidly and she was soon morphing back into her usual kagune. “Shit!” she cursed. Now of all times? Bad timing, bad timing, bad timing!

She momentarily lost concentration of her surroundings. Blood splattered all over her face, arms, body.

It was not her blood.

“Tatara!” Noro yelled from the other side of the battle, trying to fight his way through.

Eto looked down at the body, impaled directly where all his vitals are. He was going to die. He was going to die. Just like Sen.

Eto forced herself to produce more RC cells. She had to transform into a Kakuja if they were to even survive. She was morphing back into the armoured Kagune, transforming into a better, newer, more powerful version of her previous Kakuja.

“Noro!” she screamed, already transformed, holding Tatara in one claw. She leaped over in her new form, grabbed Noro, and jump up a building.

She grew wings, and she leaped off the building, heading back towards the headquarters as fast as possible.

* * *

A recruit asked the long-haired ghoul right after he walked out from the makeshift hospital room, “Are Eto-san and Tatara-san alright?”

Noro nodded grimly. Eto was just exhausted, having used her Kakuja twice, even forcing it to be more powerful than it was. Tatara... for some reason, he was not healing much at all. In contrast to Noro’s incredible regenerative ability, Tatara’s was sub-par, slower than even the average ghoul’s. It was his one weakness that marred his otherwise perfect combat skills.

An hour had passed since they returned, and Tatara was looking weaker and weaker. Wounds caused by kagunes did not heal as easily as those by mundane weapons. He had lost consciousness a quarter of the way back to headquarters and the blood loss he had sustained was immense.

The recruit stammered, hoping not to make Noro any sadder or angrier than he already was. “Noro-san, even though I’m not of any use with fighting, I was previously a doctor back in the day. I know a few other more excellent doctors, and among them, one of them specialises in ghouls. Perhaps he could help Tatara-san?”

Noro stopped in his tracks.

“He works for the CCG. His name is Kanou.”

* * *

Eto had connections. She knew how to get on people's good side, always leaving a good impression so that she made as few enemies as possible. She knew a good number of information brokers, and through them she contacted this Dr. Kanou that Noro had told her about.

Surprisingly, he agreed.

Only on the condition that they provided him with a ghoul test subject.

Eto hated ghouls and humans alike, so she readily agreed. However, Kanou said that normal ghouls died too easily, so he wanted a stronger test subject.

“I’ll be his test subject, since I’m a half ghoul and he’ll be interested,” Eto suggested.

Noro looked up from the lying figure on the bed to glare at Eto. “I am not allowing that to happen. Even if it is for Tatara, I promised Sen to always look after you. I am not letting your life be endangered unnecessarily. I will be his test subject. I can’t die, my regenerative ability won’t allow for it. Go tell him that.”

Did Noro just give her a lecture? He seemed to be speaking up much more ever since Sen’s death. He must be saying things on her part too. Eto weighed the pros and cons. It was the best solution. Tatara could die at any moment now, his breathing already laboured with a pained expression on his face. His breaths were uneven and staring at him longer, Eto could see broken bones and even more bruises. She sighed and gave in.

* * *

To their relief, Tatara began to make a steady recovery under Kanou’s medical attention. It was fortunate that the doctor was connected to the CCG, so he had all the materials he needed to help Tatara. He still needed rest, but Kanou immediately took Noro and Eto up on their offer. Noro was being experimented on day and night, and whenever Eto saw him, it would already be midnight and he was so tired he would just fall asleep straight away.

She had peeked under his shirt once, not that she was a pervert. She had seen scars and bruises that had not healed yet even with Noro’s regenerative ability.

His fingernails had even turned black due to the clotted blood under his nails, evidence of the torture he had been going through.

She could not blame anyone other than the V ghouls for his fate. They had attacked the three of them, gravely injured Tatara, and cornered Noro into agreeing to these experiments. She hated them. She hated every being in this world. They were despicable.

Once Tatara had recovered enough and Eto had told him about Noro’s predicament, Tatara had insisted for Noro to stop. Noro shook his head and declined. “Dr. Kanou is currently going to perfect something that will really help Aogiri. I’ll have to spend more time as his test subject but I don’t mind, not if it’s to achieve Eto’s dream,” he had said.

Eto had cried into Tatara’s arms that night, while Noro was fast asleep.

"Tatara...should I disband Aogiri?"

The light-haired ghoul could only stare at her in disbelief.

"Noro is... Noro is in so much pain, my dream is causing him so much pain!" Tatara was silent for a long time as the young ghoul continued to sob and rant about how unrealistic her dream was.

"It's for the best, Tatara," she suddenly decided, wiping her tears away. She removed herself from his arms and looked at her brother, still soundly asleep as if he had never suffered a day in his life. If only.

"If Noro's pain will stop, it's the best thing to do. Isn't it?" Now she looked to him, her eyes begging for confirmation.

"...no, Eto. I cannot agree to this."

"What? But why?" She sounded both angry and confused. A whole night spent ranting and it didn't seem Tatara had listened at all.

"If it's Noro's dream to achieve what you want, you shouldn't throw his efforts away."

"But I --"

"Eto, Noro and I both love you. We love you like our real sister." He paused.

"And we'll do whatever it takes to make you happy."

In all honesty, Eto hadn't liked the Chinese ghoul very much when they first met. But feelings can change, she supposed, and she couldn't ask for two better friends in the world.

* * *

Once Kanou had perfected that twisted serum of his, Noro had a few weeks off to recuperate. In that time, Kanou needed more ghouls and Eto happily supplied him with them, so long as it would prolong Noro’s peace.

She would do anything to make her brother happy, too.

However, Noro’s torture went on, and slowly, he became mute after a certain experiment that Kanou had performed. Eto and Tatara were beyond furious -- Eto even threatened to destroy him and his laboratory -- but for the sake of research and their ever-growing organisation, Noro had told them not to worry about him. Their bond grew stronger to help Noro adapt to the change, to support him at all times, even when his face was permanently disfigured after some brutal surgery of Kanou’s. They understood every action of his and words were not needed to convey what they felt.

They needed more interesting test subjects for the damn doctor.

* * *

“The CCG has developed RC suppressant gas, so any ghoul that breathes it in will be affected. Thus, I took the liberty to turn it into an injection instead. Of course, since quinque steel is in great demand, we will have to cut an open wound into your flesh before injecting the RC stimulant into the bloodstream directly. This would have a better effect than RC stimulant gas, since the enemy have ghouls on their side too. So today, Urie-kun, as I have learnt your name, will be my test subject,” Kanou smirked as he snapped on some gloves.

“Wouldn’t it be interesting to see if his human-with-a-quinque body will turn into a permanent half-ghoul?” Kanou asked his audience. Noro passed to him the syringe of light red serum. Eto smiled through her bandages. “We must thank Noro over there, since this stimulant originated from him. So let’s test it out.”

Urie screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: [Kato] Yo guys! Sorry for the later update again because Aelin got sick and couldn’t edit it until today ;-; Get well soon Aelin <3


	24. Mission Start

“We’re going. That’s the end of it.”

“No, you are not. Urie is dispensable. A quinx can be easily made. Look, Haise --”

“Arima-san!” Kaneki slammed his hands onto the senior investigator’s desk. “Urie isn’t just a Quinx. He’s my student! I can’t let him just die! I don’t care what you think of him, I’m not going to sit around and do nothing while the rest of the Quinx worry themselves to death for him! I’m going, _Arima_!”

“First Class Investigator Sasaki Haise, that is quite enough.”

Kaneki flinched. Though Arima hadn’t raised his voice, the tone he was using was warning enough for the younger investigator to stay silent. Arima looked at Kaneki with a mixture of anger and pity in his gaze.

“Haise, you must understand. I do not think nothing of Urie. As a quinx, he has made significant contributions to both the CCG’s resistance efforts and research. But,” he said, anticipating another indignant interjection from Kaneki. “The circumstances of this rescue operation make it impossible for us to save Urie without the CCG sustaining serious damages. Logically, he has to be hidden in one of Aogiri’s more secure bases. He may even be in their main base in the 23rd ward, if the information given by your ghouls is correct.”

“Then why did you rescue me? I was a lost cause and yet you risked so many lives for my sake! I’m even worse than Urie, I’m a _ghoul_! Why did you save me then?” Kaneki all but shouted in Arima’s face.

“That was a different matter.”

Kaneki stared sullenly at the ground. Arima sighed and placed a hand on his arm. “I’m really sorry, Haise. But we cannot risk so many other lives for just one quinx.”

“What if...what if we didn’t risk any other lives?” Kaneki said softly.

“What? Haise, you can’t be thinking of going alone. I forbid that,” Arima said sharply. After the torture the half-ghoul had gone through while in Aogiri’s capture, he would not let Haise have any chance of enduring the same suffering again.

“No, not alone. I’ll bring the ghoul squad along with me.”

“Haise, while the last auction raid has given me confidence, I am not so sure about a squad of just seven against a base swarming with S ranked ghouls.”

At this statement, Kaneki smiled. “You underestimate what my squad can do, Arima-san.”

“Haise.”

“Don’t worry. We’re all about S-ranked anyway, and with our firepower, I’m sure we’d destroy the base. Don’t worry, Otou-san,” Kaneki smiled wider. “I’ll return. I promise.”

Arima sighed. “The Director will not approve of me sending you into Aogiri’s base without support, Haise, even with your squad of ghouls.”

“So I have approval from you?”

“Just keep it a secret.”

“Thanks so much, Arima-san!” Kaneki bowed to the white-haired investigator and rushed out of his office.

“And don’t tell the Quinx about this!” Arima belatedly yelled after him.

* * *

“What? We’re going to save a Quinx bastard?” Ayato blurted out.

“Yes, Ayato. And he’s not a bastard,” Kaneki said. “His name is Urie Kuki. According to surveillance, he was captured by Aogiri Tree yesterday in the 23rd ward.”

“What’s a shitty student of yours doing all the way over there?” Nishiki asked.

“He’s not shitty. And I don’t have a clue,” Kaneki sighed. “He could be in one of their secondary bases around Tokyo, but in all likelihood he’s probably in their main base -- just like I was when I was captured.” He shivered. The time he had spent on that cold, metal table... it still haunted him whenever he lay awake at night, waiting for sleep to take him and drown out all of his thoughts. Touka reached out to place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Anyway, as the CCG didn’t want to risk any other investigators, I was only authorized to bring ghouls along for this rescue operation. It’s going to be dangerous. And,” Kaneki gulped. “Someone may die. So if you don’t want to come along, it’s fine with me, especially you Hide, since you’re human, you have a higher chance of dying.”

Nishiki snorted. “Typical shitty CCG. Not even bothering to save their own shitty kind, and leaving it to the ghouls to do all the work. And what are you even talking about, shitty Kaneki? Of course we’re coming along, you idiotic bastard.”

“For once, I have to agree with shitty four-eyes,” Touka said.

“Oi!”

The rest of the ghouls nodded while Touka and Nishiki began another stare-down. “Tres bien! Certainly I must join Kaneki in his gallant effort to save his dolce student!” Tsukiyama exclaimed.

Hide whacked Kaneki’s head hard and he was fortunate to have the fast healing of a ghoul, or else his head would probably be rolling on the floor. “If I leave my best friend to fight his bullies, I have no balls!” Hide said.

“Thank you. Thank you to all of you.” Kaneki stood up. “We’ll be setting out this evening, so we won’t be seen. Everyone, please get ready by then.”

Unknown to the dispersing ghouls, a certain three Quinxes were listening at the window.  

* * *

Darkness fell upon Tokyo, and the ghoul squad was ready for the rescue.

“Is everyone here?” he counted the number of heads in his squad. “Alright then, let’s go!”

“Sassan, WAIT!”

The ghouls were just about to leave when a familiar voice yelled at them from behind. To his shock, Kaneki found the other three Quinxes running up to them from behind the Chatwo. Shirazu and Mutsuki grabbed his shoulders while Saiko bent over to catch her breath.

“Sasaki-san, please don’t leave us behind!” Mutsuki pleaded with him.

“Yea, Sassan! We’re coming along, no matter what the higher-ups say!”

“Ma...Maman...me...too,” Saiko piped up, speaking between breaths.

“What are you three doing here? How did you find out about this mission?!”

“Arima-san told us that Urie had gotten captured, so we went to find you here at the Chatwo,” Shirazu told him.

_Arima…_ Kaneki shook his head.

“Please, Sassan. We have to save Urie. Even if he can be a pain in the ass sometimes.”

“If you were eavesdropping on our briefing, you know it’s going to be dangerous, right? Especially for you three, since…” Kaneki trailed off. He didn’t want to insult the Quinx or anything, but none of them could deny that their current level of skill was pathetic compared to the ghouls’, let alone the Aogiri ghouls’.

“We know that we’ll only be a burden, Sasaki-san. But it’s our responsibility to him as our squad-mate. We can’t just wait around for you to rescue him. Please,” Mutsuki begged. “We all already have our wills written. We’re ready to die. Just let us go.”

“Shirazu...Mutsuki...Saiko...are you all sure about this?”

The three quinxes seemed to hesitate for a moment, then nodded simultaneously.

Kaneki didn’t have the heart to say no.

* * *

While Kaneki had known that Aogiri’s new base was in the 23rd Ward, he didn’t have a clue where exactly in the ward it would be. This was problematic considering that the ward was one of the largest in Tokyo. He had sent Hinami ahead to scout for information with her sharp senses and hopefully she would be able to find some clues while avoiding capture by the Aogiri ghouls.

Meanwhile, Kaneki went over the plan with his squad. They would have three squads of ghouls, each entering from different sides. The squad to head in first would consist of Kaneki, Hide, Tsukiyama and Mutsuki, basically those with strong firepower. The second squad will be mainly in charge of finding Urie, those with higher reconnaissance skills: Hinami, Kanae, Arata, Nishiki and Saiko. Lastly, the third group were to clear as many ghouls as possible discreetly, so they were comprised of Ukakus like Touka, Ayato, Yomo and Shirazu.

Half an hour later, Hinami returned, unfortunately without any useful intel on where the new base could be.

“Onii-chan, I think we need a different strategy.”

“And what do you propose, Hinami?”

She turned to look at the youngest blue-haired ghoul, his eyes hooded by his heavy fur jacket, and a message seemed to pass between the two of them.  

“Onii-chan, you know that ever since we betrayed Aogiri, the higher-ups have been on the lookout for us, right?”

“Yes, you’ve told me so. Wait, Hinami, you’re not thinking of --”

“Ayato and I are going to let ourselves get captured. We’re going to be the bait.”

* * *

His limbs would not function, but his mind was working perfectly. But it only registered pain. White hot searing pain from everywhere. He was crying, as he felt the liquid roll down his cheeks, already covered in scratches and scrapes. The liquid felt thick and sticky. Was he crying blood? For some reason, the thought soothed him. He’d die soon, and be with his father once again.

His eye was throbbing, as he felt a needle piercing through the eyelid.

_Put the IV through his eye, then he won’t be able to retaliate._

Then his limbs hurt everywhere, every joint felt like it was pierced, and he could feel the shattered pieces of bone.

_Chains are too gentle, don’t you think? Ahaha, let’s stab him to the table! It’d test his new regenerative ability!_

As the voices said this, he felt his knee being fractured. The pain did not register until a few seconds later, before he screamed.

And realised that he couldn’t. Something was keeping his mouth tightly shut together and trying to tear it apart by opening his mouth hurt.

_He’s much noisier than the other one. Noro, why don’t do you me a favour and sew his mouth shut?_

Ah, he knew what this was. This was torture, wasn’t it? The exact same as what Sasaki Haise had gone through. Did he feel like this too? He probably did. Would he get saved? Probably not. But he didn’t mind dying anyway.

After all, this was the retribution he deserved for seeking out power and going to find Kanou.

* * *

Despite his reluctance to be led back to Aogiri like a dog, Ayato didn’t have much choice but to go along with Hinami’s plan. Kaneki didn’t seem very willing either, but there was no other way to find out where Aogiri’s base would be.

He and Hinami would enter one of the more ghoul-infested regions in the 23rd Ward and make some noise demanding from random ghouls on the street to take them to Aogiri’s main base. This would attract the attention of any actual Aogiri ghouls to capture them and lead them back to the base, while Kaneki and the rest followed them. They’d have the extra problem of breaking free from their captors to help their other squad members, but they’d worry about that later.

“Arata-san, please lead the remaining ghouls in your team. Yomo-san, you’ll have to do your best with the remaining ghouls in your team too. I’ve given Hinami and Ayato earpieces so we can communicate with them. You two, are you ready?” Kaneki gave out his final instructions to his squad.

Hinami nodded. “We’ll be setting off now, Onii-chan.”

As an Ukaku, he was a much faster runner than Hinami, and he sped in front of her to block her path once they were a good distance away from the rest of their squad. She crashed into him and they nearly tumbled over.

“Ayato, what --”

Their lips crashed together.

“Just in case,” Ayato muttered, before turning and running forward again.

“A-Ayato…” Hinami froze, rooted to the ground, her cheeks blushing a faint red, watching him ‘running’ off slower than he usually did.

Ayato turned around to look at her, snorting when he saw that she was still unmoving. “You coming or not? The Quinx bastard isn’t going to wait for us before he dies!”

“Y-yea!” She dashed up to his side, and she smiled when she found him pointedly avoiding her gaze.

It went without saying that Hinami always hoped that her friends would stay alive; would it be selfish of her to hope for one of them a bit more?


	25. Floppy

Despite Hinami’s countless assurances, Kaneki couldn’t help but break out into cold sweat when three cloaked ghouls approached her and Ayato. He and the others in his squad had broken up into their three teams and had spread out to keep watch on the two ghouls, who had offered themselves as bait. From his vantage point on the roof of some building, he could see the other two teams crouching behind walls around the area. Hinami and Ayato had to act like that they were still loyal to Aogiri, and through the earpieces he had supplied to the pair, he could listen in on their conversation and tell that they were doing a good job at it.

“Excuse me if I’m wrong, but are you Black Rabbit and Yotsume?” the tallest ghoul questioned.

Hinami nodded for the both of them. “Are you from Aogiri Tree?”

“That is correct. We’ve been instructed to keep a look out for the two of you and escort you to the new base.”

“Escort us? But why?” Hinami feigned ignorance.

“Apart from our usual missions, Eto-sama has ordered all Aogiri members to keep watch for Executive Black Rabbit and his subordinate Yotsume. I assume it is because of your prolonged absence from our regular gatherings.”

So. Not all the Aogiri ghouls were fully aware of their betrayal.

“Oh. Are you having a gathering now, then?”

“No. Our next gathering is...hmm, you’ll be informed, if you’re still retained as a member.”

Kaneki sighed in relief. He was worried that they’d have to fight a thousand ghouls on their way in.

“Ah, I see. Well, no need to escort us. Just tell us where the base is and we’ll be on our way.”

“That won’t do, Yotsume-san. We had strict orders to accompany you and Black Rabbit to ensure you two indeed return. Eto-sama wishes to see the both of you.”

Eto wanted to see them? Kaneki was getting a bad feeling about this, a very bad feeling.

“I understand. I apologize for the trouble, then. You must’ve been busy on your mission.”

“There is no trouble in following Eto-sama’s orders.”

With that, the taller ghoul turned away and led them down a secluded alleyway. His companion fell back to watch the rear, while the third one ran ahead, likely to give advance notice to Eto. Hinami and Ayato were thus sandwiched between the two of them. Kaneki gave his instructions through the headset again. “All teams, proceed to follow Hinami and Ayato. Stay as far away from them as possible without losing sight of them, and make sure there is one team watching each side of them.”

Kaneki watched Hinami and Ayato being led away for several minutes before he deemed it safe for his team to return to the ground and follow behind in the shadows. The taller ghoul only traversed shady side streets and narrow passageways, never the wider main roads, so it was difficult for the teams to track them while still remaining hidden. Eventually they came to an abandoned warehouse, which to Kaneki’s and Hide’s shock was only several blocks away from Cochlea. They had known that Aogiri’s new base was nearby, but never realized it was this near. Cochlea’s dull gray facade could be seen peeking over the ring of trees surrounding the detention centre.

Two other ghouls were guarding the entrance, and they nodded to the taller ghoul before letting them through. One of the sentries appeared to sneer at them, but it was hard to tell since they were both wearing their masks.

“Team 3, once Hinami and Ayato have gone inside, take out the guards.”

From his hiding spot across the street, Yomo nodded at him in acknowledgement. The shorter Aogiri ghoul passed through the doors, and they slammed shut behind him.

Several black and purple Ukaku shards shot out from the shadows. The pair of guards were dead before they even made a sound.

Kaneki touched the grinning mask he was wearing to make sure it was there. “Team 1, move in!”

Hide, Tsukiyama and Mutsuki followed him as he burst through the doors of the warehouse.

A thousand cloaked ghouls turned their heads to look at them.

“K-Kaneki?” Hide stuttered.

“Yea?”

“I forgot to mention my girlfriend in my will. Please tell her I bravely killed a hundred ghouls before dying so I could live to see her. Oh, and also to my girlfriend: Ich liebe dich!” he hollered.

_Hide has...a GIRLFRIEND?!_

But he didn’t have any time to dwell on that as the ghouls surrounding them swiftly drew out their kagune.

* * *

“Teams 2 and 3, find Ayato and Hinami! We’re surrounded so --” Kaneki stopped. Over their earpieces, they heard some Aogiri ghoul yelling at him. “Follow them! Team 3 shadow them all the way to Eto and --” They heard a squelch. Kaneki’s Rinkaku must have pierced through the ghoul. “Team 2, go find Urie while the escorts aren’t aware you’re there. Make sure you aren’t seen when you enter the warehouse!”

The two teams who had yet to join the fray had been staking outside the Aogiri base when the battle suddenly erupted from inside the warehouse. It came as a complete shock to them since they had thought that there weren't a lot of ghouls gathered within the base. With Kaneki busy fighting, the leaders of the two teams were left to decide their plan on their own. Yomo and Arata risked surveying the warehouse for other entry points while the rest of the squad remained hidden. To their fortune, it seemed that all of Aogiri Tree was occupied fighting Team 1, so there were no guards stationed along the perimeter.

"It seems that all the windows along the warehouse are locked," Arata observed.

"Let's try the roof." Yomo jumped onto the wall and clambered onto the tin roof.

"There's a hatch!"

The rest of the two teams were called over, and quickly they got onto the roof and entered the warehouse through the small hatch Yomo had found, which gave access to the rafters. The sound of ghouls fighting and dying roared up at them. None of the Aogiri members had noticed their entry, though Kaneki had looked up after impaling one unfortunate enemy and smiled at them. Then again, with the sort of mask he wore, he was really grinning creepily all the time.

To their credit, Team 1 had taken out at least sixty ghouls already, but more ghouls only swarmed in to take the place of their dead comrades. Arata turned to look at the teams.

"Right, all of you can see that Kaneki-san and Team 1 are having a hard time! We need to find Urie-san and return quickly! Everyone, keep a lookout for Hinami and Ayato, and follow them as soon as you can! Let's go!"

Five ghouls and two Quinxes jumped onto the rafters. Arata felt anxiety build up at the back of his mind as he searched for his son amongst the chaos on the warehouse floor. Where could they have taken Ayato? It wasn't as if there was any place to hide him. The warehouse was just one huge room. Their reconnaissance around the warehouse didn't reveal any adjoining buildings either. Perhaps there were other hideouts slightly further away from the base?

He heard a yell of surprise from behind him, and found Shirazu's sleeve pinned to a wooden beam by a stray Ukaku shard. While the quinx was tugging it out from the beam, Arata looked down to find Ayato glancing up at him, his kagune emerging from his back. The two escorts pushed Ayato roughly and broke the eye contact. Arata couldn't hear what they were saying to his son, but it was obvious that they were angry at him for using his kagune. Ayato pointed to Tsukiyama, who was fighting on the warehouse floor nearby, and gestured towards the escorts. The taller one shook his head, and Ayato's kagune retracted into his shoulders. The shorter one pushed him forward. His son turned to glare angrily but didn't do anything worse than that. They continued to lead Ayato and Hinami to an inconspicuous door on the farthest wall away from the fighting and bumped them inside.

"Everyone! I've spotted Ayato and Hinami!" Arata called out to the other ghouls who were sneaking around on the rafters. He leapt onto the ground before the door. The rest of the squad followed.

He reached for the doorknob, but Yomo stayed his hand. "We need to hurry after them!" Arata protested.

"Owl expects them," Yomo said. "If we kill the escorts..."

He sighed. Yomo was right.

They waited several more moments, then pushed open the door. A flight of stairs led downwards into a warren of dimly lit corridors, awaiting their first venture.

* * *

 _Left!_ Hide hopped to the right, barely dodging the attack of a Rinkaku ghoul.

 _Right!_ He jumped away from the angry kagune tentacles, and turned to face the hostile Aogiri ghoul.

 _Attack!_ Hide sprang towards the ghoul, impaling him on his kagune.

The ghoul screamed in pain and slumped over, allowing Hide to pull out his Bikaku weapon from the corpse. He shook it a few times to rid it of the blood that stained its white surface.

As an Associate Special Class Investigator, Hide was definitely not incompetent in combat. The quinque he owned had been harvested from an S-class ghoul he had killed named Ryuki, so that was what his weapon was called. With it, he could easily pierce through Koukaku kagunes despite their tough exterior. With it, he had already killed an extraordinary number of Aogiri ghouls. But as the only ordinary investigator in Team 1, Hide was having a hard time keeping up with Kaneki’s and Tsukiyama’s rapid kill rate. Even Mutsuki was faring much better than most investigators of his rank would. Hide was already tired from fighting so many ghouls at once.

The whole warehouse shook all of a sudden. The impact came from below and Hide knew that something dangerous was down there. Would Ayato and Hinami be alright? They would probably need more reinforcements, but if his team was the one with the most firepower...

“Kaneki! You guys go ahead first! I think something’s happened! Don’t worry about me, these ghouls are nothing!” Hide yelled, giving a reassuring smile towards his friend. The investigator nodded and led the rest of the team towards the door that Arata had told them about through the earpiece.

Hide let out a breath to calm himself. It had been a long time since he had felt the fear of death. But if his one death would save the others, then he would give it up willingly. He prepared for battle once again.

Three more ghouls came running up to attack him, all Koukakus. Hide hit first, slicing off a large section of the first ghoul’s kagune. The ghoul seemed oblivious to the pain and slashed at him, making him jump. He ducked as the other ghoul swung his kagune over his head, and Hide gashed his torso. He fell to the ground with a thump. But as Hide spun around, a foot came flying into his face, and he was launched backwards several feet. Ryuki clattered to the ground next to him. The ghoul brandished his kagune as Hide tried to stand back up again.

“Nng!” He grunted. Hopefully he had nothing broken -- his girlfriend wouldn’t be too pleased if his handsome face was ruined! The Koukaku’s kakugan glinted and he made to stab at him, and Hide barely managed to roll away from his attack. He grabbed Ryuki. Just as the Koukaku was about to make his second attack, Hide righted himself and lanced his quinque through the ghoul’s heart. Phew. Finally he had them both dispatched.

_Wait...weren’t there three of them…?!_

“Surprise, dove bastard!” Hide turned around too late as a bright blue kagune gored him in the side. Pain shot through his body, and he fell to the ground again, Ryuki loosening in his grip. Dark red blood pooled around him.

Oh, he tried. He tried so hard to get back up. But the blood kept flowing, and he didn’t think he had the strength to stand anymore. “I’m...I’m sorry, Kaneki,” he muttered through clenched teeth. He closed his eyes. He couldn’t keep his promise to Kaneki... or her.

A clang ringed through the air. Seconds passed -- the killing blow never came.

Hide dared to look, and slowly he reopened his eyes. A tall cloaked figure was standing between him and the Aogiri ghoul. A Bikaku, he guessed hazily.

The Koukaku fell to the ground, a large wound marring his chest. Hide watched as the Bikaku ghoul knelt next to him, his cloak falling to partially cover his face. He felt the ghoul’s hands beneath his back, picking him up.

“Who... are you? What are you doing?” Hide asked weakly. He barely registered more bodies falling to the ground.

“I’m someone who’s never going to make the same mistake again. I’m never letting anyone suffer like Akira did.” The ghoul was strong. So strong that he had finished off most of the ghouls in Hide’s half mushy mind. The ghoul carried him out of the warehouse. Once safer, he pulled out a piece of cloth from inside his cloak and tied it tightly around Hide’s midsection to stop the bloodflow.

It took another moment for Hide to register what the cloaked figure had just said.

Akira? Akira Mado? The investigator he was previously assistant to? Daughter of Kureo Mado, and former partner of --

Oh. Oh.


	26. Sundered

Kaneki was racing towards the basement door. When the explosion had rocked the warehouse from below, he had completely lost focus on the battle around him, and his mind jumped to one thought alone: Hinami. All alone save for the younger Kirishima, nearly alone without the protection of her elder brother. Well, he was kind of worried for Ayato too, but it would always be his little sister at the forefront of his mind.

Hide had instantly read his thoughts and urged him and the rest of the team to go on without him. It wasn’t that he didn’t have faith in his best friend’s fighting abilities. He would just always worry about those closest to him even without any apparent reason. Kaneki feared solitude, and he’d do anything to keep his closest alive. An aspect of his personality that would probably never change.

They were right before the door now, and Tsukiyama was killing off the last few ghouls who were insistent on following them. Mutsuki tugged the door open. “Sasaki-san, Tsukiyama-san, let’s go!”

But Kaneki was still looking back towards the battlefield, searching in vain for a glimpse of a head of orange hair. “Hide, we’ll come back! I promise!” he yelled.

“Monsieur Kaneki, we cannot waste anymore time!” Tsukiyama said, pulling Kaneki through the door after him. It slammed shut. Mutsuki slumped down against the wall with fatigue, panting and sweating.

Kaneki was silent for a time, staring down at the staircase that led downwards to the belly of Aogiri’s base. Tsukiyama produced a candle, lighting it with a match. Kaneki stared quizzically at the odd lighting source.

“‘Tis for atmosphere, Monsieur!” said the Gourmet.

Kaneki rolled his eyes.

Once Mutsuki had recovered some stamina, the three continued downwards. Arata’s voice crackled over the earpiece -- connection seemed iffy in these subterranean halls. “Kaneki-san, Team 2 and 3 have split up. Half of each team have gone to follow Ayato and Hinami, while the other half has gone to find Urie-san. Also, did you hear the explosion?”

“Yes. Team 1 is in the basement now to assist. Are any of you injured?”

“No, it was a distance away from where we were. But Ayato and Hinami may not be.”  Arata’s voice turned hoarse.

“Understood. We’ll investigate the explosion. With that kind of power it’s probably Eto who caused it,” Kaneki said.

Their conversation ended there. Tsukiyama was holding the candle aloft and leading them through the halls, which so far hadn’t diverged into separate paths yet. It took them perhaps a hundred steps before they reached the first divergence. The halls twisted three different ways.

“Arata-san, we’re at the first fork in the hallways. Which path did your teams take?” Kaneki asked through his earpiece.

Silence, and then -- “Half went left to...and Ayato. Other...right,” he said. Much of his speech was muted by static.

“Okay, we’ll take the middle route,” Kaneki replied. Hopefully Arata got the message.

The middle path took them to a closed metal door, and also another flight of staircases. Mutsuki tried the handle but the door wouldn’t open. None of their ghoul senses could detect anything from inside, either. Kaneki rapped lightly on it. To his surprise, the door was composed of quinque steel, which makes a hollow sound when hit. He marked the door in his memory, then brought his team down the stairs.

At the bottom of the staircase they found themselves at the start of another long hallway, but this one was lined with many of the same quinque steel doors. A cloaked Aogiri ghoul was standing guard as well.

“Arata-san, there are ghouls down here!” Kaneki whispered over his earpiece.

There was no reply.

“Do we kill him, Sasaki-san?” Mutsuki asked.

“No, Mutsuki-kun. Do you not hear someone approach?” Tsukiyama said.

They flattened themselves against the wall of the staircase. The shadows cast by the dim lighting would conceal them, if they were still. A female voice rung out from the hallway in a commanding tone. It wasn’t Eto, for Kaneki would recognize her girlish voice anywhere, but some other Aogiri Executive. And the only female Aogiri Executive was…

“Captain Ichiro!” Executive Miza scolded. “Where are your subordinates? Where are Jiro, Saburo and Shiro?”

“U-upstairs, Miza-san -- “

“Upstairs? Doing what?!”

“Fighting off some intruders, Miza-san.”

“Intruders?! Do we really need more ghouls than the thousand that are up there to fight off some _intruders_?” The famed Triple Blades let out an exasperated sigh.

“B-but Miza-san, they aren’t just any intruders! It’s Centipede and his friends!” Ichiro complained.

“Centipede?” Miza said. “Why would -- hold on, do you smell something, Ichiro?”

_Crap_ , Kaneki thought. _We’ll have to fight Triple Blades now._

“Mutsuki, Tsukiyama!” he said.

They nodded, and the three leapt from the shadows, startling two very shocked ghouls.

* * *

Despite himself, Shirazu was trembling slightly as he tagged along behind Yomo. The two reconnaissance members with them, Nishiki and Saiko, had gone on ahead, following the extremely faint scent of blood and some undetectable metallic sound Saiko had picked up with her acute hearing.

He’d admit it, he was scared. Who wouldn’t be, in the very depths of Aogiri Tree’s main base? What if he died? Then Haru wouldn’t be able to get the treatment she needed. The white-haired Ukaku beside him was some comfort to him, with his stoic silence and air of self-reassurance, but that’d do nothing if they had to face off with one of Aogiri’s top ghouls. And what about Urie? A long time had passed since they had received notice that he was missing, and even then, he could have been captured days before that. Shirazu didn’t know what to think if his squadmate was dead. They had fought a lot when he was still around. He couldn’t take that arrogant attitude of his. And that one time he called Sassan a ghoul -- not that it wasn’t true, now that he thought of it -- but oh did that bastard make him so mad!

But then again, Urie was still his squadmate. He hated to say so, but he had trusted the bastard. He knew Sassan cared a lot about him, as he cared for all the Quinx. If Sassan could be so kind to the pain-in-the-ass Urie Kuki was, then, well, he could be... nice to his fellow Quinx too. Sometimes. Bah, he’d save the idiot, then kick him in the face afterwards for all the trouble he caused them.

Nishiki’s voice went on over his earpiece. “Seems we’ve stumbled upon something pretty bad. The real shit, if you asked me, so get your shit over here quickly.”

He and Yomo hurried over to Nishiki’s and Saiko’s position, where they found the two kneeling against a metallic door, with Saiko pressing her ear against the door’s cold surface. They joined the two on the floor. Shirazu crept up next to Saiko and pressed the side of his head against the door too. He strained his ears, listening for the slightest disturbance but couldn’t pick up anything at all. Saiko, in contrast, had her eyes widened, and they only grew wider as the seconds ticked by. Shirazu grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

“What? What did you hear?” he asked.

“T-t-t- Shirazu!!!” She fell into his arms and started crying.

“Sh-Shhhhh!!!” He hissed at her. Nishiki growled. “Get your shit together, lady!”

“I-I’m sorry,” she whispered. “B-but Urie…”

“What? What about Urie?”

“He’s inside….and being...I could hear his screams, Shirazu!” she said croakily.

“Is...is there anyone else inside?”

“I don’t think your shitty friend could torture himself, now could he?” Nishiki drawled.

Shirazu glared. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Shirazu slammed through the door and stormed in, ignoring Nishiki’s frustrated shout to wait.

Urie was stuck to a metal table with knives pierced through his shoulders and knees. A doctor with his creepy surgical mask was hovering above him, syringe in hand, while a ghoul with a long ponytail of purple hair stood in the corner, his back towards them, standing guard next to a pushcart of surgical instruments.

The ghoul spun his head completely around. A one hundred and eighty degree turn.

“Why the fuck does this world have to be filled with you shitty idiots?!” Nishiki groaned.

“Save it,” Yomo scolded, as they backed slowly away from the ghoul, his kagune emerging from his back.

* * *

Triple Blades Miza narrowed her eyes, her three distinctive Bikaku blades pointed threateningly at them. “Centipede,” she greeted coolly. “What are you doing down here?”

“Ah, well, you didn’t happen to hear an explosion, did you?” Kaneki asked.

“Of course I heard the explosion!” she spat. “You caused it, didn’t you? How many of our ghouls have you and your traitorous ghoul squad killed?”

“A hundred and twenty-seven, but we didn’t cause the explosion,” he said.

“Then who did?” When Kaneki didn’t answer, she stabbed her Bikaku towards him, and he leapt away.

“We don’t know. But it wasn’t us,” he said again. Mutsuki had his own kagune out, while Tsukiyama’s was wrapped around his arm. Kaneki still hadn’t used his yet.

“Monsieur, what are you thinking?”

“You’ll see, Tsukiyama-san,” Kaneki told him. He turned back to Miza. “We don’t know but -- we suspect it’s Eto.”

“ _Eto_? You must be kidding me. Why would she try to blow up her own base?”

“I had thought you could tell me.”

Miza seemed to pause for a moment. He knew it! Bless Hinami and Ayato for their information gathering, he thought. Battles that could be won without bloodshed would always have the best results.

Miza was quiet for a while, jumping back to give her opponent distance. “She... wouldn’t. She’s our leader!”

“Mmhmm, so why is your base so precariously near the hell of all ghouls?”

“...”

“Aha, you’re not so blind. You are just pawns in her plan. Did she even tell you executives, the people so high up there, the leaders of Aogiri, her plan? She doesn’t trust any of you.” Tsukiyama and Mutsuki had already retracted their Kagunes, seeing where this was going.

“But I’ve been her subordinate for years!”

“So had Ayato, and my guess is, she’s trying to kill both Hinami and Ayato at this very moment.”

Miza was shocked, firstly with the news that Ayato and Hinami had joined forces with the CCG, but furthermore so that Eto would dare hurt Ayato, their dedicated subordinate whom Tatara had invited into the organisation, and Hinami, a resourceful and sweet girl who shone with loyalty.

She fixed on Kaneki a determined gaze. “I’ll lead you to them.”

 


	27. The Valiant Sword

As Miza retracted her kagune and prepared to leave with Kaneki and his team, her subordinate Ichiro yelled in protestation. “Miza-san! You can’t possibly believe what Centipede is telling you! How could you betray us?”

Miza wouldn’t look at him. “For the longest time, I had believed in Eto’s dream: to carve for ourselves a rightful place in this world. A place where we would be safe from the humans. But how could I ever believe it now, when she’s recklessly endangering the lives of our ghouls? Ichiro, I don’t believe it anymore.”

“But of course ghouls will get endangered! It’s not Eto-sama’s fault, it’s the humans! They are killing us, not Eto! We need to fight for our place in this world!”

“And Eto very well knows that! So why are we being stationed so near Cochlea? Why are ghouls being sent out everyday, only to never return? Why did she let a hundred and twenty-seven of our ghouls die, when she could have come up and killed them all so easily? Tell me why, Ichiro.”

“Miza-san, I --”

“I know why, and you know why. Eto doesn’t care at all about us.” She brushed past him down the hallway of quinque steel doors.

“Oi, Miza!” Ichiro drew out his kagune, a blue Koukaku. “Even if you think you’re justified in betraying Aogiri, I’m still loyal to Eto-sama. And I’m not going to let any _traitors_ out alive.”

“You? Kill me? Ichiro, you know you could never kill me.” In just a matter of seconds, her three Bikaku blades had pierced through his cloak at the shoulders, pinning him to the wall. “Go run and tell Eto, if you want. I don’t really care. I’m not coming back.”

With that, she withdrew her kagune, leaving Ichiro slumped on the floor, too shocked to move. Kaneki, Tsukiyama and Mutsuki ran past him, following Miza down the hallway.

“Miza-san, don’t you think you were being a little too harsh on your subordinate?”

“Harsh?” she laughed. “You should see how your friend Ayato treats _his_ subordinates. It’s like he’s restraining himself from killing them all.”

Miza led them through several turns and twists in the halls, guiding them surely towards where she had heard Hinami and Ayato were being taken to. Kaneki contacted Arata through the earpiece as they ran. “Arata-san, Team 1 is having a change of plan. We’re coming to help you bust Ayato and Hinami out.” Again, there was no reply.

“Arata-san?” Silence. Kaneki frowned and contacted Touka instead. “Touka-chan, you there?” There was nothing from her either. Connection really was terrible underground.

“I couldn’t contact either Arata or Touka. Hopefully it’s just the connection, and nothing’s happened to them,” he informed the rest of the team.

“Well, since Eto, and probably Tatara, is there with Ayato and Hinami, something may have happened,” Miza said.

Kaneki tried not to think about what Eto would do to them.

After some running, Miza stopped at another turn in the hallway. “Wait,” she said suddenly. “Do you hear that?”

Kaneki strained his ears. Yes, he could hear something. A faint scream drifted down through the hallways.

“ _Hinami_!” he said in horror. He made to run off to save them, but Miza barred his way.

“You can’t go running off to fight Eto like this! That’s crazy!”

“Hinami’s getting hurt! I can’t let her get hurt!”

“You’re not the only one who cares for Hinami, Centipede!” she hissed. “But if you go dashing valiantly into battle so directly, you’re the one who’s going to get hurt instead.”

“I don’t care.” He pushed Miza to the side, rushing around the corner and out of their sight. He could hear Tsukiyama saying something to the former Executive, but he didn’t care. He had to get Hinami out of here. After several seconds, Tsukiyama and Mutsuki were running after him. Miza was not with them.

“Where is Miza?” he asked.

“She’s not coming, Monsieur,” Tsukiyama informed him. “She says: ‘Just follow the hallway and you’ll get to where Ayato and Hinami are. You should go on without me.’ And she left.”

So Miza had refused to help them. Never mind, they’d manage well enough without her.

They ran past several more turns.

Arata lay dead against the wall.

* * *

“YOU SHITTY IDIOTS!” Nishiki roared as he barely dodged another attack from Noro’s monster kagune. He and Yomo were fighting to keep the silent Aogiri ghoul away while Shirazu and Saiko went to help their fellow Quinx. Kanou had disappeared right when the fighting was thick, as usual.

“Urie, we’re getting you out of here!” Shirazu yelled, as he helped Saiko remove the knives from Urie’s flesh. Each time they pulled one out, the Quinx on the table would groan in pain. Saiko was tearing up as she tugged out each knife, embedded so deeply that it reached his bone, some even shattering them, as seen from the white fragments in the flesh. Shirazu wondered if the pushcart of surgical instruments had any anaesthesia, but even if it did, Noro was in the way. Urie was bleeding heavily, not only from where the knives had been, but also from countless cuts and lacerations all over his body. He wasn’t sure if his friend would even survive the escape from Aogiri base, let alone make a full recovery.

“Move aside,” said a deep voice behind them. Shirazu and Saiko turned around to find a tall, cloaked figure, a red kakugan shining from under his hood. He was still unnoticed by the others due to them being in an intense fight.

“Who are you?” Saiko asked, as Shirazu picked Urie up from the table.

“An old associate of the CCG. Now, take this,” he passed a battered suitcase to Saiko.

“What is this?” she asked.

“A quinque. It’s my old one, but I think you’ll still find it useful,” he said. “Now, get going. I’m going to help your ghoul friends.”

Shirazu and Saiko nodded slowly and watched him draw out his Bikaku. It was orange and scaly, with spikes all over its surface and a sharp spear-tip at the end.

“Oi, Nishiki, Yomo-san! This - this ghoul is here to help you! We’re retreating with Urie!” Shirazu yelled, racing out of the torture room with Urie in his arms and Saiko chasing after him. Nishiki instantly got pissed off again.

“OI SHITTY QUINX! Leave us here, why don’t you, you piece of shit!” he shouted. Yomo pushed him aside as Noro attacked with his kagune again.

“Stop getting distracted!” Yomo scolded again. He looked at the Bikaku ghoul who stood by them, ready to fight.

The ghoul spoke with no room for question. “You cannot kill him. But we can incapacitate him for a while, if we can damage his kakuhou. Then we run.”

Nishiki growled. “Then let’s do it!”

* * *

“Arata-san!” Kaneki yelled.

“Kaneki?” Touka called out to him. She was fighting Tatara alone, using her speed as an Ukaku to dodge his relentless attacks.

“Your father!”

“He’s just unconscious! He’s fine! But Hinami --” She jumped to the side to avoid getting stabbed by Tatara’s Rinkaku, and shot several Ukaku shards towards him. The Aogiri ghoul simply swept them away with his kagune.

“I’ll go to her!” he said, running off. “Tsukiyama-san, Mutsuki, help Touka, I’m going to bring them back!”

Leaving them behind, he rushed around the corner, only to find himself right smack in the middle of another battle between Hinami, Ayato, Kanae, and the monstrous Owl kakuja that was Eto.

“Onii-chan!”  

Kaneki had seen Eto’s kakuja form before, but he was still struck with awe and fear as he lay eyes upon it again. White Ukaku spines protruded from its back, ready to fire barrage after barrage of shards, while four sharp blades extended from the tops of her shoulders. It was so huge that it filled the entire hallway they were in, and it fixed its single kakugan on him, the newcomer to the battle.

Behind her, he noticed that a large part of the wall had shattered, as if something had...exploded. “It’s Ayato’s fault. His shard hit a gas pipe,” Hinami informed him.

“But I broke of two of her fucking blades!” Ayato said. “Well, before they regrew.”

Kaneki focused his attention on the One-Eyed Owl, who was waiting for them to make their next move. He drew out his eight distinctive Rinkaku tentacles, and fell into formation with the other three ghouls. “Ayato, stay far back and shoot. Hinami, Kanae, you’re Rinkakus, so fight with me!”

Together they rushed Eto, slashing at her kakuja’s two grotesquely white forearms. She dodged it, firing a heavy rain of white Ukaku shards at them, then smashing them to the side with her kakuja blades. Their kagune had barely scratched her, while the three of them were bruised all over. They charged again, Hinami on one side, Kanae on the other and Kaneki in the centre, aiming to damage her kakuja. Kaneki slid as Eto slashed one of her kakuja blades at him, receiving several purple Ukaku shards for her effort. He dashed and pierced through both her arms, severing them at the elbow. Hinami and Kanae both hit a single kakuja blade.

Chillingly, Eto only laughed, and she shook Hinami and Kanae off, making them slam into the wall. Her arms and kakuja blades instantly grew back. Another rain of white shards was fired at them, and many hit their mark, with Hinami barely managing to use her Koukaku to shield herself from Eto’s attack. Owl continued to fire, none of the Rinkaku ghouls could get anywhere near her. Even Ayato’s Ukaku shards couldn’t keep up with her firing rate, and were being knocked away.

“We can’t defeat her! We have to run, Onii-chan!” Hinami screamed.

Kaneki tugged out another Owl shard from his arm, wincing as the blood flowed. “You’re right, let’s go! We’ll get the others to run too!”

“ **hAhA...yOu’rE nOt gOiNg aNyWhere** ,” Eto said. She leapt towards them, kakuja blades swinging violently.

“RUN!” And they did, racing back to where Touka, Tsukiyama and Mutsuki were still fighting Tatara.

“EVERYONE RUN!” Kaneki yelled.

“What?! But my father’s still --” Touka cut short her tirade when she saw Owl chasing behind them. “OHMYGOD KANEKI RUN!”

Ayato hefted Arata over him shoulder, swiftly dashing away with Mutsuki and Touka behind him. Tatara made to chase after them, but Tsukiyama blocked him with one slash of his Koukaku blade.

“Monsieur Kaneki, I’ll hold these two dégoûtant ghouls back so you can escape!”

“But Tsukiyama--”

“Go! Let this be the final act of the Sword of Kaneki Ken!”

Kaneki wanted to protest, but nodded in the end. Tsukiyama smiled, standing to fend both Tatara and Eto off.

“Let us dance, mes amis!”

* * *

A barrage of black shards fired into Noro’s upper back, and with the ghoul distracted, Nishiki wounded him with a stab through his waist, just missing the kakuhou located in his lower back. He cursed and drew back before Noro nearly grabbed him with his weird mouth-like Rinkaku.

Amon yelled at them. “Keep distracting him!” He produced another suitcase, activating it, and in a split second, he was holding his signature quinque, Doujima, still upgraded with the Bin Brothers’ kagune. Wielding it in tandem with his Bikaku, he smashed Noro into the wall, then pierced him through his lower back with Doujima, fending off the rain of Rinkaku tentacles with his orange Bikaku. Amon was extremely fast for a non-Ukaku ghoul. For good measure, he sliced off Noro’s head too. It would take the ghoul a long while to regenerate and be capable of fighting anyone.

“Let’s go, now!”

Nishiki and Yomo looked at each other, the shock evident in their expressions. Amon had defeated Noro in just several minutes. “What the actual fucking shit just happened?!” Nishiki exclaimed.

“Who the shit are you?!” Nishiki continued, accusingly.

Amon only smiled. “As I told the previous two: I’m just an old associate of the CCG. But more will be explained after we escape. We have no time now.”

As they ran, Nishiki showered curses on him. “Oh my fuck. How the shit did you kill that bastard?!”

“Later.”

“Fuck you!”

* * *

The six left in their party was running as fast as they could. Several loud smashing sounds could be heard. Kaneki hoped Tsukiyama wasn’t on their receiving end. Suddenly a certain Chinese ghoul was chasing after them, angrily lashing his Rinkaku at them. So he had gotten past Tsukiyama.

The party paused to engage the ghoul, and Kaneki watched as the Kirishima siblings rained Ukaku shards at Tatara, embedding many in his Rinkaku. They were shaken off immediately, and the kagune suddenly whipped towards Touka.

“Touka!” Kaneki yelled, running towards her. He pushed her aside, and the crimson Bikaku went straight through his middle. Kaneki coughed up blood, digging his fingernails into the kagune. Hinami screamed, but he barely registered the sound as he closed his eyes, gritting his teeth to stop himself from shouting in pain. His Rinkaku clawed vainly at Tatara’s kagune as the Aogiri ghoul embedded his kagune further into his flesh. Mutsuki yelled and attempted to stab Tatara with his own Bikaku, but he could still dodge even with someone impaled on his kagune. The Quinx fell to the ground, and Tatara kicked him heavily.

“Well, Centipede, it appears this is the end for you,” Tatara said. Kaneki yelled, straining his kagune to dislodge the Bikaku. The world was going black before his eyes. He hazily saw Kanae and Hinami trying to stab at Tatara, who repelled them with another lash of his Rinkaku, Kaneki still impaled on its tip.

Touka... Touka…

He fell into darkness.

* * *

_**Back again, I see?** _

_Not you again._

**_I will always be here when you need my help. Heh...weak as ever, Kaneki._ **

_I don’t need your help. And I’m not weak._

**_Not weak? Don’t make me laugh. What idiot would offer himself to get impaled on a kagune?_ **

_I was protecting Touka!_

**_Protecting her, hahaha! And how’d that turn out? She’s on the floor. She’s probably dead._ **

_She’s not dead!_

**_You failed to protect her, Kaneki. You failed, and now you’re dead too, abandoning all those who you’ve loved. yOu aBanDOned theM! yOU gAvE up oN tHem! hOw tHoUgHtFuL!_ **

_Stop it, just stop --_

**_yOu kNoW iT’s tRuE kAnEki!!! YOu caN’T pRoTeCT AnYoNe!!!_ **

_Stop, stop please--_

**_jUsT DIe!!! JuSt kILL evErYoNe!!! HeEhEEheEHEe --_ **

_JUST STOP! JUST SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP!_

**_yOu dAre --_ **

_I’m not weak. I’ll protect, not kill. I’ll use this power for peace, not destruction. You’re never taking over me again._

**_kAnEki--!!!_ **

_Who’s the weak one now?_

**_yOu’LL rEgReT tHiS kAnEkI!!! yOU’LL diE wItHoUt mE! YoU’ll dIE aND AbAnDon aLL yOUr fRiEnDs!_ **

_Well, I’ll die happy protecting them._

**_nO yOu cAn’T--_ **

_Goodbye. I guess this’ll be the last time I’ll ever see you._

* * *

“K-Kaneki?” He heard Touka whisper. “Oh god no, please no --”

“And thus the Centipede finally shows his true form,” Tatara said with satisfaction.

“Onii-Chan, no…” Hinami whimpered.

Kaneki looked down at himself. Tatara’s Rinkaku was still embedded in his middle, though he didn’t feel any pain. He reached up to touch his face, and yes, there was a hard black carapace covering his whole face, his mask. He could feel large appendages, heavier than his kagune, extending out from his kakuhou onto either side of him. Glowing black and red, the centipede-like extensions coiled around in front of him along with four of his Rinkaku tentacles.

He had turned into a Kakuja. A full Kakuja.

Kaneki raised up his head to look at Tatara, gripping the crimson Rinkaku, and effortlessly pulled it out. The large wound in his belly closed up in seconds thanks to his berserk regeneration. He turned to look at the other five.

And he smiled. “I’m still here,” he mumbled, without a hint of insanity in his voice, looking down at his hands and flexing them.

If Touka were any other girl, he thought that she would start crying from joy. But she wasn’t any other girl. She was Touka, _his_ Touka, and she returned his smile with a fierce one of her own.

“Let’s take him down, Kaneki.”

He burst forward with the extra speed lent to him by his Kakuja form, slamming into Tatara and pinning him and his Rinkaku to the wall with his centipede kagune. He rained a barrage of stabs onto his body with just the four Rinkaku tentacles he had out. The Aogiri ghoul yelled in shock, pushing him away with his Rinkaku. He panted and leaned against the wall, his body riddled with holes.

“In-incredible,” he heaved. “Not even Noro attacks that fast.” He weakly fended off a shower of Ukaku shards from Touka. “You--you have to die.”

“Not today, Tatara,” said Kaneki, and he smashed through his Rinkaku once more.

“I-impossible...” the Aogiri ghoul grunted, before busting a hole through the ceiling and escaping amongst the dust.

“Kaneki--” Touka said.

“We’ll talk later. Chase after him, but retreat in five minutes no matter what. I need to go help Tsukiyama!”

“Kaneki, Owl’s back there--”

“All the more I need to go save him!”

He hurried back down the hallway to find Tsukiyama and Eto still engaged in furious combat. He was barely managing to keep himself alive, struggling to block every slash of her kakuja blades and evade every fire of her Ukaku shards.

“Tsukiyama!” Kaneki called out to him.

“Monsieur! You-- you came back!” he said, panting. He tried to slice off a section of Eto’s kakuja arm, which she avoided. “And--you’re a Kakuja?”

“I’m here to help!” He charged at Eto, holding off her Kakuja blades with his strong centipede kagune, and pierced her countless times, as deep as he could, with his Rinkaku tentacles. Despite this, Kaneki still felt her cold kakuja arms wrapping around him, dislodging his kagune from her and throwing him brutally to the side. Kaneki quickly got back up and charged again, rebounding off the wall and raining another barrage of stabs into her back, breaking several Ukaku spines. He jumped off, just in time before Eto reared back to impale him.

“ **kAnEkI kEn…!** ” she roared, the wounds he dealt her closing back up again. Kaneki scowled. “ **hEh, I cAn’T kILL yOu noW, bUt I cAn kILL tHe oThEr!** ”

“Wh-- TSUKIYAMA!” Kaneki rushed to him, but Eto slammed him to the side with her giant kakuja arm, and leapt towards the Gourmet, slashing with her giant blades much faster than usual, firing her Ukaku shards at the same time. As Tsukiyama jumped to avoid her shards, she lanced one large kakuja blade through his centre.

“TSUKIYAMA!” Kaneki scrambled up to get him. He rushed to his body, evading the stabs from Eto’s kakuja, and picked him up. He was bleeding heavily from a large wound in his midsection, but he raised his head slightly to look at Kaneki.

“In life...and in death...your Sword,” he said, then fell limp, still breathing, just barely.

Kaneki looked at Eto in horror, then ran off, returning to where the others were waiting.

“EVERYONE, RUN!” he roared.

* * *

“SHIT SHIT SHIT SHE’S RIGHT BEHIND US!” Ayato howled, the fastest runner out of all the escapees.

True enough, Eto was pursuing them as keenly as an owl pursues its prey, her white Ukaku constantly firing white shards at them. She had dissipated her kakuja form in favour of her nimbler kagune for manoeuvring in the enclosed tunnels. That didn’t mean she wasn’t still hellish to deal with -- she could have overtaken them easily if Touka and Ayato didn’t hold her off with their long range Ukaku.

They burst out through the side door in the warehouse to the nine hundred or so Aogiri ghouls who were still in the warehouse.

“FUCK EVERYTHING!!!” Ayato screeched, flying recklessly into the crowd, firing Ukaku shards everywhere. Ghouls fell before his path, and fled in sight of Kaneki’s kakuja and of the Owl behind him.

“It’s the Centipede!” they would cry, running away before Kaneki could kill them.

Even when Eto returned back into her monstrous kakuja form, chasing after them with earth-shaking footsteps, they continued to run, and they finally got out through the door, while Eto was held back by the simple steel warehouse wall for several moments.

“Monsieur,” Tsukiyama cried out, in a croaky voice.

“Tsukiyama?” Kaneki said. The others were preparing for when Eto busted through the wall.

“I’m...I’m sorry I couldn’t stay alive. I’m sorry I can’t continue to be your sword,” he said, then coughed out some more blood.

“Tsu-Tsukiyama, you know what, here, go ahead.” Kaneki placed Tsukiyama on the ground, then proffered his arm to him. “I know you always wanted to. Go on.”

“OI, OVER HERE!” a familiar voice suddenly cried out. Everyone turned to look, and found Nishiki shouting at them from the back of a large van. Confused, the four went to him, while Kaneki remained outside with Tsukiyama.

“Kaneki, hurry!” Touka said.

“Go in first! I’ll come!” He turned back to Tsukiyama. “Won’t you eat?”

To his surprise, the Gourmet pushed his arm away. “Kaneki... I will not eat.” He paused to cough. “I’ve always wanted to. I know. But... I will not now.” Tsukiyama smiled weakly up at him. “I am your Sword, Kaneki. I would not think of hurting you. I... will stop others from hurting you.”

Kaneki’s eyes widened at what the Gourmet’s words suggested. He willed himself not to cry. “What would you have me do then?” The steel wall of the warehouse shook violently. Eto would be coming soon.

“Leave me.”

“No!”

“Leave me, Monsieur. The-- the van cannot get away if someone doesn’t hold her off. I’ll do it again, as I did just now.”

“You’ll _die_!”

“I know. I said just now would be my final act... but it wasn’t, Monsieur. But this time, I know this shall truly be my final act.”

He wouldn’t be dissuaded. Kaneki was crying as Tsukiyama got up, staggering. His left hand wrapped around his wound, his right raised with his Koukaku wrapped around it. “What are you waiting for, Monsieur? Go.”

“I’ll-- I’ll come back for you.”

“There may not be a body left to come back to,” Tsukiyama laughed grimly. “Do not cry, Monsieur. Let me perform this final act with your _joyeux_ face in my memory. Alas, this is goodbye.”

It was such a déjà vu experience. It was heartbreaking. He failed to protect someone again. He failed.

Kaneki fought his thoughts away and dissipated his kakuja, piling into the van, and it drove off, just in time before Eto burst through the steel walls of the warehouse.

He could still see that purple Koukaku, dancing its last wild furious dance.


	28. Empty

After a while, Kaneki tore his eyes away from the van window, looking at the people sitting around him. All of them bore injuries of some sort.

“Kaneki-san, where is Master Shuu?” Kanae asked him.

Kaneki didn’t dare to look Kanae in the eye. He shook his head solemnly. Tsukiyama’s former servant widened his eyes, tears brimming, then his face fell into an angry scowl. “Why didn’t you save him?!”

“He didn’t want to be saved--”

“YOU SHOULD HAVE SAVED HIM!”

“Kanae-san, I’m sorry, he just--”

“YOU LET HIM DIE! IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!” he screamed, then burst into tears, hiding his face in his hands. Kaneki fell silent. Hinami looked at him with a doleful gaze.

“So...he’s really gone? Mr Flower Man?” she whimpered and stared hard at the floor.

Kaneki swallowed his sorrow, trying to ignore Kanae’s sobs lest he started crying too. His body felt heavy now that the adrenaline was gone. His eyelids started to close by themselves.

He felt someone’s hand slide behind his head as he fell to the floor, his vision slowly blacking out.

* * *

Kaneki woke up to find himself on his own bed, his entire body still aching from the fighting he had endured earlier. The curtains were drawn and the lights were turned off. A familiar aroma wafted through the air. Kaneki turned to find a mug set on the table next to his bed, still hot, with a note attached: _Kaneki, I made some coffee for you, but you were still asleep when I entered. Rest well. -- Touka_

But after taking one sip, Kaneki found that he wasn’t in the mood to drink more, and he slid back under the covers, shutting his eyes tightly and doing his best to keep thoughts of a purple-haired ghoul away. He wondered how Kanae was coping, and thoughts of the Rosewald weeping brought tears to his own eyes. He wiped them away with his blanket, staring at the blank wall facing him.

Why did he let Tsukiyama sacrifice himself? He could have forced him into the van, and it was unlikely Eto could catch up… He could have stayed and helped him to fight, and at least Tsukiyama would have had a chance to live… He could have shoved his arm into his mouth, and Tsukiyama would certainly have gotten enough Rc cells to heal himself, and be more ready to fend Eto off… He could have sacrificed himself, so that Tsukiyama wouldn’t have to... He could have, he could have...

Kaneki shut his eyes again.

But he couldn’t stop thinking about all the things he could have done to save Tsukiyama. His death… he still couldn’t believe it. It seemed so impossible to him, that the eccentric Gourmet could ever be gone from his life. Sure, he had tried to eat him when they first met, yet that was long ago, before they had become great friends, before the ghoul swore himself into his service. Tsukiyama had cared so much for him that he had gone into depression when he thought he had died, and even when he was recovering, he had proved as loyal to Kaneki as ever before.

The Sword of Kaneki Ken…

Tsukiyama had bestowed that title upon himself. Long ago, when he swore himself to Kaneki, he called himself his “sword”. A sword to protect, a sword to cut down his enemies, a sword to clear away the thorny path that stood in his way. Kaneki had agreed to wield him, back when he was still a snowy-haired, disturbed ghoul, whose one goal was to protect everyone he loved. He had failed, back then, when he nearly died, leaving all he knew for his new identity Haise Sasaki. And now that sword was gone. Put away. Tossed aside.

Abandoned.

No… he couldn’t have… he didn’t want to abandon him… there was no choice… there was no choice, he told himself there was no choice… Kanae’s words came biting back at him, _YOU SHOULD HAVE SAVED HIM!_.. There had been a choice, he had the choice to save Tsukiyama, and Kaneki let Tsukiyama die for him, he _let_ him die, he let his own Sword die early, too early, long before he was due to be sheathed… It was his fault, really, it was his fault Tsukiyama died, it was his fault again, he failed to protect someone again… he failed, he failed, he _failed_ …

The tears kept flowing. He couldn’t stop the wretched feeling he felt inside. He didn’t want it to stop. He deserved to feel this way, stricken and broken, even though no punishment he took would ever be enough to bring Tsukiyama back.

Kaneki howled, for the anguish he felt for his friend, and the anger he felt for himself.

* * *

“What… why are you picking flowers?” Ayato asked, as he followed Hinami around the small forested area near the Chatwo. She bent down to pick up a yellow four-petaled flower, placing it in a basket she had brought along. She had collected a small bundle of them already, and they gave off a fragrant scent.

“They’re for Mr Flower Man,” she said, looking around for more.

“Uh, who?”

“Tsukiyama-san.” A bright orange flower was sticking out from the grass. Hinami promptly severed it at the stalk.

“And why are you picking flowers for that fucking creep?”

“He is not a creep, Ayato. Don't you badmouth him.”

“Well, alright, but he _did_ try to eat Eyepatch, ya know. You could have been next.”

“I know what happened to my Onii-chan. But that was the past. He was always nice to me when I was younger. He talked to me a lot.” She added another flower to her bundle.

“Like about what?”

“Oh, a bunch of things. Mostly what he thought were refined topics, for my education he said, since I never went to school. Like music, or the arts. And flowers,” she added with a smile. “He once compared Onii-chan to an osmanthus.”

“What the fuck’s an osmanthus?”

“It’s a _flower_ , Ayato,” she said, rolling her eyes. “This flower.” Hinami raised one of the yellow flowers to his nose. “Doesn’t it smell good?”

“Uhh, sure, I guess.”

“Then take it!” She pressed the small flower into his hand. “May it bring you happiness, Ayato.”

“I don’t believe in this sort of flowery shit,” he muttered.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” replied Hinami.

They continued walking through the grass. Ayato rolled the flower between his fingertips, staring at the little yellow petals. The scent of it reminded him of something he couldn’t quite put a finger on. He felt like he should know it, but it slipped his mind. Maybe he could ask Hinami about it. She’d definitely know, if the creep had given her any sort of education as he had told her. An osmanthus, huh. What a strange way to describe Eyepatch. Then again, the creep was just fucking crazy most of the time.

Hinami suddenly gasped, and ran towards something. Ayato followed closely behind her. She knelt down in the grass, cupping her hands around a vibrant purple flower. Her fingers stroked its five petals, before she gently plucked it from the ground. He went closer to look at it. It was larger than the osmanthus, and had five petals instead of four.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a violet, Ayato,” she whispered, as if telling him of some secret treasure. “Tsukiyama-san said it represents loyalty, devotion and faithfulness in floriography. Don’t you think that fits him so well?”

“I think, uh, the colour does match his hair...”

“I think so too!” she said, holding the flower tenderly in both hands. “I just wish he was here to see it. I know he’d like it too. Oh, Mr Flower Man...”

A small sob escaped her. Ayato was slightly shocked at this abrupt tearing up. He wanted to comfort her, though how was he supposed to do that? What should he tell her? Fuck, he had no idea how to act around girls. Gingerly he wrapped an arm around her, and she moved closer to him. Hinami was weeping softly, her tears spilling down her face and damping his shirt. Her shoulders trembled ever so slightly, so he hugged her closer to himself, resting his head on hers. Damn it, what was he doing? It was like that other time when he kissed her right before the Aogiri raid. That moment had been brief, while this was… it made him nervous, very very nervous.

“I miss him, Ayato,” she cried. “I miss him so much.”

“H- hey, don’t cry, oi, come on!” Ayato tried his best to console her, to no avail. She continued to sob. He sighed. He had no idea how to handle emotional issues like this either. He had always thought crying made you weak, and treated those who cried as such. But Hinami… he couldn’t treat Hinami like that.

She was special.

Later when they returned to the Chatwo, Ayato had asked Hinami to head back to their room first. He entered their room an hour later.

“Where were you, Ayato?” she croaked, her voice hoarse from crying. She must have continued to cry in their room.

Ayato fidgeted for a while, hands behind his back hiding something. “Here! Take it.” He presented another flower to her, looking away to mask his embarrassment. It was blood red, with slender leaves along its stem. “G- Grant me one smile, Hinami,” he said in his gruff voice.

She widened her eyes at this, red-rimmed from her tears. “Ayato, how did you know what this flower means?”

“Uh, I, uh, I... saw it on the, um, the Internet,” Ayato stammered, quickly turning as red as the flower he had found. “I was, uh, searching uh, uh, for -- damn -- for flowers.”

Hinami took the flower from him, staring at it alongside the bunch of flowers in the basket beside her on the bed. He scratched the back of his head, blushing hard. “I… Hinami?”

“Ayato,” she said quietly, raising her head to look at him. “I love this flower. Thank you.” And she smiled at him, despite the trails of tears that still tracked down her face.

“Ah... whatever,” he said, looking away and trying his best to not look embarrassed. Hinami placed the flower into her basket, then turned back to him.

“Ayato, I was thinking…”

“Of?” He instantly broke out into a cold, nervous sweat.

“I was thinking… I’d like to name my child after a flower.”

“Y-- your child?”

“Yep. What do you think of that?” she asked, her smile growing wider.

“I, well, of course, uh, that’d be great,” he fumbled.

“Really?”

“Uh, well, I’m fine with whatever damn name you want to give your kid. It’s your kid anyway.”

“Oh, Ayato,” she giggled. “You can be so naive sometimes.”

“F--” But he never got to finish his sentence, as Hinami reached up to kiss him.

They remained locked that way, for several minutes, until she broke off and giggled again. Ayato was speechless while she picked up her basket. Hinami grabbed his hand, and pulled at him gently towards the door.

“Come on, Ayato,” she said. “We should go help with the preparations or everyone else will get suspicious.”

“Uh… uh…”

“Let’s go.” He stumbled along after her, a grin slowly forming on his face. He had cheered her up. He had made her smile.

And he wanted to see her smile like that every day, for as long as he ever saw her.

* * *

That evening, the weather was clear, with the red of the setting sun mixing with the dark blue of the sky. Several stars had already begun emerging from behind the few clouds. An owl hooted faintly in the distance. A gentle breeze blew through the grass, rustling the leaves against each other. Six ghouls gathered in the little backyard behind the Chatwo, forming a circle along with two humans. A perfectly normal night, it would have turned out to be.

Except for the carved wooden post that stood in the centre.

They were silent, some closing their eyes, some staring hard at that wooden post. As they stood vigil, three people approached their circle from the Chatwo, and the circle broke open to let them join in. Their faces were solemn, and they were quiet like everyone else, even though they had barely known the person they were grieving for. The eyepatched one looked around, searching for someone, frowning when he found him absent. “He’s locked himself up in his room all day,” said a CCG investigator next to him.

The youngest of their group began to cry. A taller boy next to her put his arm comfortingly around her shoulders.

Touka was the first to break the awkward silence, save for Hinami’s quiet sobs. “My first impression of Tsukiyama was that he was a creep. A dangerous creep. Always up to something bad… always trying to eat Kaneki.” On hearing this, the three newcomers had shocked expressions on their faces. She smirked a little, albeit sadly, then went on. “But I think after what he’s done for us… sacrificing his life so we could escape, I have to admit my respect for him has grown.” Touka finished, looking at the ground.

Hide shrugged his shoulders, and he spoke as well. “I’ve not known Tsukiyama-san for very long. But what I understand of him is, that though he can appear eccentric at first… he’s actually a pretty loyal guy. I’m grateful to him for looking out for my best friend when he disappeared from the human world, and for dying to save us from Eto.”

And so, out of respect, it went on, with each person present saying a few sentences about Tsukiyama. Finally, it was Hinami’s turn to speak, as she held a basket of flowers in one hand.  

She wiped her tears on the back of her sleeve before speaking. “Ever since I first met Tsukiyama-san, I called him Mr Flower Man. When I was younger, he talked to me often about flowers. He taught me their names, and what they meant. I never went to school, so I learnt a lot from my talks with him. He took care of me when Onii-chan was away. He had always been a great friend to me. He was never anything but nice to me.” Hinami stopped to take a deep breath. “He-- he died to protect us. Everyone’s said that. But I wish he, he wasn’t…” Her voice cracked. “I wish he’d come back.” Hinami wiped her tears again, and Ayato rubbed her back, somehow managing to look sad.

“Tsukiyama-san gave me flowers, once. So now I want to give back what he loved most.” She went up to the wooden post and carefully placed her flowers around it, making a ring of them. One purple flower went right in the front. After her, everyone other person went up to the post to pay their respects to their fallen comrade. As Yomo was standing in front of the grave, the back door of the Chatwo swung open. All turned to look.

It was Kaneki, his hair falling to cover his face.

He shuffled towards the post. Yomo moved to give him the space, and he knelt down in front of it, leaning his head against the post. He whispered something no one could hear, not even Hinami with her above average hearing. Touka went to place a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged her off, clenching his fists beneath him. Kaneki whispered again, this time slightly louder,

“What is it, Kaneki?” asked Touka.

“Leave…” he said, the rest of his words too quiet to be heard.

“What?”

“Leave me… alone.”

“Kaneki-- ”

“Leave… please…”

Touka sighed, and told the rest. “He wants us to leave him alone.”

“Sasaki-san, you can’t-- ” Mutsuki protested, but Hide shook his head at him. “I know Kaneki. It’s better if we leave him to himself, you know?” He gave a half-hearted smile that he hoped was encouraging.

So they filed out of the backyard, heading back into the Chatwo. Kaneki continued to kneel there, grabbing the post with both of his hands. The sky had darkened by now, the sun having disappeared, and he was left alone in the wind and darkness. While he had been crying and howling his heart out while in his room, he was completely silent out in the open. There was only him, and the memories of Tsukiyama that floated through his head. He dug his fingers deeper into the post every time he felt another pang of sadness hit him.

_I’m not going to protect you by being your shield or armor. But I’ll be the dagger hidden below your pillow._

Kaneki had seen the wooden post. It had been engraved with his Sword’s name. There was nothing special or unique about it. It was just a plain, meaningless monument to remember his death by. The flowers Hinami had placed would wilt and die. They didn’t even have his body to bury beneath it. It was an empty grave. Eto had probably eaten it anyway. Like one of her insignificant prey. An unspectacular marker for an unspectacular grave. Funny how something that wasn’t actually there could evoke such emotions in a person.

_You don’t need to blame yourself just because you’ve hurt someone._

It wasn’t fair that Tsukiyama had to die this way. It wasn’t fair that he had to die… it just wasn’t fair. Fate wasn’t satisfied screwing up his own life, it had to screw up the lives of the people he knew too. Now the Gourmet was gone, and Kaneki would never again see that head of purple hair, never hear him talk of his eccentric interests, never have him by his side in combat where he always proved most loyal and true.

_I’ll always stay by your side. Always remember that._

So Kaneki cried again, the words of his Sword whispering beside his ear.

* * *

The machine next to Urie’s bed was beeping regularly, a good sign for Dr Shiba. His patient was in stable condition even though he had sustained serious injuries to nine separate areas and many lacerations on sixty-eight sites on his body. They had operated on him and stopped the blood flow. All they could do now was monitor his health, so Dr Shiba was waiting beside his hospital bed for the medical examination results to come in. In a few minutes a nurse entered the room with a sealed envelope containing Urie’s data, and Dr Shiba thanked her before she left the room.

He unsealed it, scanning through the numbers quickly. Everything seemed to be in order. It appeared that Urie would be making good recovery, less than the several months they had expected.

Then his eyes stopped on an unusual number: 1397.

Of course, the number in itself was not particularly strange. It was the number along with the label next to it that made it highly abnormal, and terrifying.

Dr Shiba was an accomplished CCG researcher, but even he did not know how to help a human whose Rc cell count was high enough to match a ghoul’s.

* * *

“Does this look like the place?” A bearded man asked his three companions. They looked over his shoulder at the newspaper he was holding.

“Aye!”

“Sure does.”

“I think so too.”

“Let’s go knock on their door, then.”


	29. Past Pain

_Centipede:_

_I would like to apologize for my unexplained refusal to help you in your raid of Aogiri Tree’s base several days ago._

_I understand from that purple-haired friend of yours that you would have liked me to join you, and that I would have been more than welcome to assist in your fight against Aogiri Tree despite my history with them. I thank you for your kindness._

_But you must understand this: While I cannot stay with the organization I betrayed… neither can I join the ghouls who massacred my comrades. Many of my friends and close subordinates died in that battle. I may forgive you, someday, but I doubt I’ll ever forget what you’ve done._

_May strength and courage find you, Kaneki Ken, and perhaps our paths shall cross once again._

_Three Blades_

* * *

Hinami knocked on Kaneki’s door. With her sensitive hearing and nose, she knew that he was inside but the rustling of sheets told her that he did not wish for anyone to disturb him.

She knocked again, before murmuring an ‘excuse me’, then swung the door open to enter. Her Onii-chan was lying on his bed, his back facing her. An unsealed envelope lay on his bedside table. She was interested in its contents, but shoved that curiosity aside as she walked towards him. Kaneki didn’t stir at all, not even when she sat at the edge of his bed.

“Onii-chan, are you awake?”

No response.

“Onii-chan, please. You have to stop this. You’re going to become like how Tsukiyama-san was when we met him that day.” She gently shook his side. “Onii-chan, everyone’s worried about you. When will you come out?”

Slowly, the half ghoul rolled over to face her, but his eyes were half closed. His hair fell messily all over his face, obscuring the dried tracks of tears that ran down his cheeks. “Hinami… please leave me alone…” he whispered. “I need to be alone…”

“I’m not leaving you alone, Onii-chan!”

“Hinami, please…” He turned away from her again.

“Onii-chan!” Kaneki went silent again.

Hinami sighed. Her elder brother had cried for hours in front of Tsukiyama’s grave the previous night, and then he had cooped himself up in his room for the entire time after that. He wouldn’t respond to any calls for him to come downstairs to eat, or even to see Investigator Mado, who had dropped by to check on him. She took a deep breath.

“Onii-chan… the day my mother died… when I was wondering if… it was right for me to be alive… do you remember… do you remember what you told me?” she asked, voice trembling slightly. Kaneki stirred slightly.

“You told me that you believed it to be my mother’s will. That she wanted me to stay alive.” Hinami turned to him. “I think Tsukiyama-san wanted the same thing. I think he wanted us to stay alive.”

There was no reaction from Kaneki. “Onii-chan, Tsukiyama-san wouldn’t want to see you like this. He died to save us. But what’s the point if you’re not going to go on living?” Her voice had grown louder. “Onii-chan, you need to move on!”

Barely, she heard him whisper, “I killed him.”

“You didn’t kill Tsukiyama-san. No one thinks that. Not even Kanae, no matter what he said to you. Even _Kanae_ is moving on.” Hinami stopped herself. She was starting to sound too harsh for her own liking.

“I’m sorry, Onii-chan. I just… I just don’t want to see you like this. Everyone’s worried about you. You haven’t eaten anything, you haven’t drunk anything, you’ve not come out for the past three days. It’s almost like… it’s almost like how Tsukiyama-san was when we found him,” she whispered.

A memory of him sick and emaciated floated to the fore of her mind, and it quickly shifted to become an image of Kaneki, thin to the bone, chewing on his own fingers and refusing any drink, lying, dying on his own bed, wailing and whimpering for death to take him… No! She couldn’t let that happen to him.

Hinami reached forward to shake his shoulder. “Onii-chan, please, you can’t stay this way! Please, you have to get up! We… we still _need_ you, Onii-chan!” she nearly screamed.

Kaneki did not dare to look her in the eyes. He felt embarrassed at the fact that Hinami, who was six years younger than himself, was brave enough to move on. Tsukiyama’s death hurt him a lot, much more than he ever thought it would, but everyone else had already accepted it. How could he stay like this, weak and pathetic? Hinami was right… he had to get up. He had mourned for Tsukiyama. It was time he let go and look to the rest of his friends. He had to make sure they didn’t die, too. Kaneki turned his head, finding her kneeling above him, tears nearly spilling from her eyes.

He reached up to wipe them off her face. “Thank you, Hinami,” said he, and for the first time in three days, he smiled.

* * *

A soft _click_ came from the door. Amon kept his gaze fixed onto the table as footsteps entered the room. The investigator dragged her chair backwards, scraping it against the floor, before seating herself with pen and notebook in hand. The tension built up in his mind. He clenched his fists, which were chained around the back of his chair. They had injected Rc suppressants into him to prevent his kagune from forming and allowing him to escape. Another _click_ went off, and a second investigator entered, handing something to the first before leaving. Amon dug his fingernails into his palms.

Finally his interrogator spoke. “Are you Amon Koutarou?”

“Akira…”

She ignored him and asked him again, louder this time. “Are you Amon Koutarou?”

“Akira, you know who I am.”

“Just… just answer. Are you Amon Koutarou?”

He was silent for a while. “Yes.”

“How old are you?”

“I’m twenty-nine.”

“Were you previously an investigator with the CCG?”

“Yes.”

“What was your rank, before you were designated missing in action?”

“First-Class.”

“What quinques did you use when you were working as an investigator?”

Amon furrowed his brow, remembering. “Kura, Arata, and… Doujima.”

The interrogator scribbled a few things on her notebook, not responding to his use of her name. Why had she been sent to interrogate him? What was his former organization trying to get out of him?

“Which investigators were your partners when you were working for the CCG?”

“Akira, you should know the answer to that question.”

“Answer, please.” Her voice was completely devoid of emotion.

“Akira!” He burst out. “This is ridiculous. You know all this information. Why do you have to ask me?” _Why do you have to make me remember?_

She stopped writing, placing the pen on the table. “Amon-san, please understand. This is part of the CCG’s standard procedure for interrogating prisoners. We must verify your identity for the interrogation to proceed.”

_Did she just call me Amon-san?_ But all Amon did was sigh. There was no point trying to protest now, especially since Akira was refusing to display any sign that she had known him at all. “I… understand.”

“Good. Now, please recount to me your life, starting from the Owl Suppression Operation which took place about three years ago.”

He raised his head to look at her. His eyes met her pale green ones, and she stared back at him, unflinching. “Well, Amon-san? Do you need me to repeat myself?”

“No… but three years of information?”

“Yes. As best as you can recall, please.” She set her pen to a fresh page on the notebook.

He turned his gaze back to the floor, dejected. “Alright. So, three years ago…”

* * *

Amon opened his eyes to find himself in a dimly lit room, the right side of his body aching. He turned his head to look, and through the pounding in his head, he saw his arm, the skin slightly lighter than at his shoulder. Gingerly, he lifted it up with his left hand and inspected it. No wounds… no bruises… His eyes shifted downwards, and to his shock, his right hand was-- but why--

Then the sound of shoes scuffing the ground behind him caught his attention, and a benign-looking doctor with white hair walked into the room, a little bandaged girl following behind him.

Suddenly, Amon realized that he was strapped to metal table. “What the hell?!” he yelled, struggling against his chains.

“It is no use, Amon-kun. We’ve injected Rc suppressants into your bloodstream. Your strength is only that of an average human’s.”

“Who are you? What have you done to me?!”

“Now, now, calm down, Amon-kun. There is nothing to be concerned about. The operation was a success. Unfortunately you were already unconscious when we found you, so I couldn’t perform any further… experiments.”

“Experiments?!”

“Yes! Doctor Kanou is trying to find out more about ghouls, you see. And he’s especially interested in half-ghouls,” said the little bandaged girl.

“Half-ghouls? Like the Eyepatch?”

“If you mean my dear prototype Kaneki Ken, then yes. He is one of the first half-ghouls I have ever made… finest specimen I ever lay my eyes upon.”

“You turned the Eyepatch into a half-ghoul?” he said incredulously.

“Of course. Who else could have?”

Amon shivered. There was definitely something wrong with this man. What kind of person would relish turning humans into ghouls? And if the Eyepatch’s sanity was anything to go by… he must have done it rather brutally. He felt a sudden pang of sympathy for the former human.

“What are you going to do to me?”

“Ah, yes. As Eto-san has mentioned, I have a professional interest in the anatomy of half-ghouls. It has been shown that they are much more powerful than regular ghouls. But why? How does their body differ from normal ghouls? Is it some factor in their bloodstream? Is it that their muscles can produce energy more efficiently? Are their bones stronger, their limbs tougher? Till now I do not know the answer… and I must know it.” He paused to catch his breath. “The only way to find out, of course, is to experiment on half-ghouls. But where shall I get a half-ghoul? It is highly unlikely to find one naturally… so as part of my work, I also find ways to turn humans into half-ghouls.” Kanou smiled down at Amon. A drop of sweat rolled down the side of his face.

“You-- you--”

“Yes, Amon-kun. You’ve been chosen as my latest subject. We’ll be experimenting on you later this evening, in fact. Your amazing physical and combat abilities have impressed me, and my instincts were right in telling me that you’d be a perfect specimen. As I’ve said, this first operation was largely a success. Though, it does seem that your regenerative abilities are rather lacking… ” Kanou’s gaze fell onto Amon’s right hand.

“You turned me… you turned me into a _ghoul_?!” Amon couldn’t believe his ears. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be! He couldn’t have turned into one of _them_ , the enemy of the human race, the species that had killed Harima and Mado-san and Takizawa! But it made sense, didn’t it? He was still alive even after being impaled by the Chinese ghoul’s kagune, his arm had grown back, and they had to inject Rc suppressants into him… no no no no! It couldn’t _be_!

“A _half_ -ghoul, Amon-kun.”

He thrashed even more violently against his chains, the metal digging into his skin. “LET ME _GO_!!”

“I’m afraid that won’t do, Amon-kun. We’ve spent resources capturing and operating on you. You’ll have to bear with us for a while.” The doctor nodded towards the girl, Eto, and they moved towards the door.

He heaved himself forward, but the chains held him back. “What have you done?!” Amon shouted. “How is this of any _use_ to you?!”

Kanou smiled again. “For myself, it’s purely to fulfil my curiosity. But for Aogiri…” Eto interjected, “It’s going to help us achieve far greater power!” She laughed, and the two left.

* * *

He had continued to struggle even after they had left, but the chains just wouldn’t break. So for a while he lay there in silence, thinking up plans for his escape.

_If the Rc suppressants they injected are similar to the CCG’s, and of the standard amount, then it would usually only last for several hours… but how much did they inject? If this is Aogiri, they would inject much more than that… That doctor had said he would be returning later, maybe when they are experimenting I could overpower them and run… or I could try stealing some sort of tool from them to file through these chains… Ah, but that girl, Eto… she doesn’t seem quite right to me… I feel like I’ve seen her before, her presence feels familiar… If she accompanies the doctor it’ll be much more difficult to escape…_

The door opened, and Amon immediately stiffened, thinking Kanou had returned. But instead it was a ghoul with a near-blank mask and a long ponytail.

_It’s that ghoul!_

Amon’s gaze followed him as he walked up to the table, then pushed it forward. The table was wheeled, he realized, as the ghoul moved him out of the room and down a corridor into another, much larger room. It was even darker than the other one, but faintly Amon could make out the shapes of a myriad of machines, some with liquid bubbling in them. Where was he being taken?

Noro wheeled him to a stop beside one dubious looking contraption that had a large tank of white liquid on the top. Amon couldn’t see what made up its bottom. Then Kanou suddenly appeared from the shadows, pushing a cart of surgical tools. A bright light went on above him, and Amon squinted. The doctor bent over him. “We meet again, Amon-kun.”

“What are you doing?” he asked. His eyes darted from side to side, looking for anything that could help him escape.

“An experiment, naturally. If you would look to your right…”

Amon turned, and gasped. A person had been tied down to a table, like himself, and his arms were locked into two metal boxes. From the tank extended downwards four tendrils, which pierced into his bare back. White liquid rushed through them and into the tank, filling it. His long white hair fell to hide his face. Blood was dripping from him and staining the floor underneath the table. “What is that?”

“ _That_ is a ghoul named Yoshimura -- once known as Kuzen, and to you investigators as the Non-Killing Owl. But in this laboratory, he is nothing more than a useful resource.” Kanou flipped another switch on the machine. The liquid in the tank bubbled as more fluids were harvested from his back, making Yoshimura cry out in pain. Amon went deathly pale as he tugged hard on his chains, the metal rattling noisily. The doctor turned a disapproving eye to him. “If you struggle like that during your operation, Amon-kun, it'll only be worse for you.” He nodded to the blank-masked ghoul. “Let's begin.”

The ghoul passed a razor sharp surgical knife to Kanou. Amon flailed in his chains, in fear of the tool the doctor held. “What are you doing? Stop it!”

“I told you, it’s an experiment. I’m going to insert the kakuhou of our donor Yoshimura into you to see how successful such an implantation would be in a half-ghoul. There will be parallel experiments on a full ghoul I have already picked and on a human we had captured during the CCG’s operation. So, please do comply.”

“Aren’t you going to use anaesthesia?” Amon said, the knife drawing closer to his skin. He yelled and made one last fight against his shackles.

“No, there is no need for anaesthesia. Besides, this is a good way for me to gauge the pain threshold of half-ghouls. Don’t you think so too?”

“NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!!”

The knife came down. The blank-masked ghoul towered over him, holding him down to the table, as his screams of pain echoed throughout the room.

* * *

“So some time after the Owl Suppression Operation, you were taken to an Aogiri Tree base, turned into a ghoul, and had the Non-Killing Owl’s kakuhou brutally implanted into you?”

He nodded slowly. Akira sighed. “I’m sorry for you, Amon-san. I wish we could have saved you.”

He was silent. She scribbled something, then, “So how did you survive the operation?”

Amon closed his eyes. Remembering so much of that horrific surgery-- no, torture, it was torture-- had taken a toll on him. He calmed himself, before dragging out more memories from the back of his mind.

“I don’t know,” he answered. “It was… I think… I thought that I didn’t want to die there. I still have things I want to do. I still need to revenge Harima and Mado-san, and I still wanted to see y--” He stopped himself.

Akira raised an eyebrow at him. “What is it, Amon-san?”

“Nothing. It was nothing.”

“You… have a very strong will to live,” Akira commented. Amon thought that she was suspicious of what he had said. She wrote into her notebook. “Please continue.”

He returned his gaze to the table. “I nearly died in that operation, actually. I was so close to death that… well. They thought I was really dead. I couldn’t assimilate the Non-Killing Owl’s kakuhou. They threw me to the side and waiting for me to bleed to death.”

“And how did you escape from their compound?”

* * *

Pain. All he knew was pain.

Pain destroyed. Pain obliterated. Pain nearly made him forget himself.

He had lost his voice after screaming ceaselessly throughout the surgery Kanou had performed on him. He didn’t want to think about the wounds the doctor had inflicted on him, but how could he not, when they bit and burned at him _every_ second to remind him of his pathetic, hopeless fate? And his back… even though it was just the upper part, where the kakuhou had been inserted, it felt like his _entire_ back had been ripped out.

Midway through the operation, he had fallen unconscious from the pain, and when he woke up, he found himself in a small, dank cell, completely dark save for the tiny rectangle of light that shone through the small holes in the wall. His back still burnt fiercely, but at least the pain wasn’t enough to incapacitate him.

The lights outside the cell were switched off. He knew it was not night. The light outside told him so. Amon was realizing that his senses were starting to become more and more heightened, and he was able to detect even the tiniest of details.

He could hear no footsteps whatsoever in the vicinity, and the cells around him were lifeless. He couldn’t hear any sort of sound from them too. Either abandoned cells or dead and rotting bodies by the smell of them. He stared at his cell. The walls, the metal plank that was his bed, the floors. They were painted in red. With his blood.

Had he been left to die in this cell alone?

Did Aogiri think he was worthless and dead?

He had to escape. This was his chance, but the only problem was that he was too weak. He didn’t know where to go.

He should rest first and regain his strength.

* * *

“Then? What happened?” Akira prompted after the short tense silence.

“I stayed there for a week to heal, then I busted myself out of the cell with my Kagune. I had to… I had to…  hunt. For food.” His voice grew softer, ashamed of the fact that he had had to feed on his own species. “Then I went to observe Aogiri’s movements. I’ve been watching them.”

“Why didn’t you come back to the CCG?” Her tone was accusatory.

There was a pause before Amon lashed out.

“How could I face my comrades again when I had become a ghoul, the very creature that I hated! Everyone hated ghouls! I even hated myself! I don’t know how I lived, I _shouldn’t_ have li--”

Lips were pressed onto his, effectively shutting him up. “Ugk!”

She pulled away, her eyes moist with unshed tears.

“At least you came back.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: [Kato] Hey guys! We're still aliveeeeee~~~ ahaha ok sorry very very sorry for the late post (me and Aelin were admiring the starsssssssssssss) and yes it's finally here, 3 days late, but hey, at least we posted it!


	30. Beginning of the End

This could not be happening… This could not be happening! He needed to get stronger. He cannot be stopped by such simple news. Yes, this was all a dream. This was all a bad dream. This was all a nightmare. This would stop soon. He just needed to close his eyes, and when he opened them, everything would be back to normal… right?

Except, it didn’t.

He had turned into a ghoul. The fact that he was only partially one made no difference to him. He was a half-ghoul. He was the same as that scumbag, that disgusting half-ghoul bastard. But even in his hatred for the half-ghoul and himself, he could finally understand the burdens Sasaki Haise had to face.

He was not human. He was not ghoul. He could not eat food. He needed to eat humans. His own _kind_.

He was a monster.

Would his father forgive him? He didn't know anymore. On his journey in his father’s footsteps, he had made many mistakes, but this time he had committed a terrible sin. He had allowed himself to be experimented between the thin lines of humans and ghouls, all because of his desire to become stronger… and it was disastrous.

“Hey, Urie... It won’t be that bad... Sassan’s a half-ghoul too...” Shirazu tried to comfort his teammate. Urie’s dark expression promptly shut him up. He did not want consolation.

“Urie-kun, this was a result of increasing your RC cell count and forcing your body to keep producing more. I knew that this experiment was a dangerous one and should have never started it in the first place. I am very sorry. I have orders that the Quinx Project shall be terminated. Al--”

“That can’t be true! We can still work!” Mutsuki banged his hands onto the table at the foot of Urie’s hospital bed.

Dr. Shiba sighed and placed a hand over his face. “Let me explain. With this progression of events, it has only fuelled our decision. This has already been brought up a while back even before this... _incident_. Most of your RC cell counts have been steadily increasing, which is dangerous not only to yourselves, but to those around you. Now that Urie-kun’s Kagune has broken through the Quinque steel defense, he is no longer human. The same thing may happen to the rest of you, thus the CCG has decreed that the Quinx Project shall be terminated. You will still receive money from the CCG as compensation money for the rest of your life. Do not worry.”

The Quinxes looked at each other in tense silence. “... I won’t agree to this.” Saiko was surprisingly the first one to break the silence. “If we cannot use our Kagunes, that’s fine with me. I still want to work in the CCG alongside Maman!”

“Yeah I agree! We do still have our Quinques! We can still fight!” Shirazu piped up. Mutsuki stared at his shoes and nodded vigorously. They all needed to prove themselves worthy of their work in CCG.

For Saiko, this was her home. She would never return to her family. Maman and the Quinxes are her true family. She would not leave them. She had to prove her worth to stay in the CCG. She would not play anymore video games, she would not snack, she would wake up early, she would train harder than ever, if this was required for her to stay.

Shizaru needed the money. For his sister, he was the only person left. Compensation money would never be enough, since it would only be enough for Shirazu alone. He needed to earn more. He could not just pack up and leave! That would be so irresponsible!

Mutsuki on the other hand, wanted to help Sasaki-san as much as possible. Yes, he was in another squad, but he wanted to help Sasaki-san in the same cause, even if it was against the infamous Aogiri Tree. Mutsuki would get stronger! He rarely used his Kagune anyway, so he just had to train harder with Suzuya-san!

Urie... could he work in the CCG again? Would he be allowed to? He was a ghoul now. Could he? Would he be able to face anyone else?

Dr. Shiba sighed. “I knew it would come to this. I will report this to the higher ups to see what they can do about it.”

He handed them syringes of RC suppressants before he left the room.

* * *

Kaneki walked down the stairs along with Hinami. Why was the house so quiet? Usually, everyone would be in the living room or somewhere on the first floor at this time of the day. Then he heard a very familiar and unmistakable voice, one that he had almost lost all hope of hearing.

“Banjou-san?!” Kaneki’s eyes almost bulged from its sockets the moment he confirmed the presence of an unruly whirl of beard hair. The man, along with three others, was standing in the doorway of the Chatwo, awkwardly deciding if he should introduce himself, walk in, or leave.

The bearded man’s head whipped towards the younger, eyes lighting up with recognition. He was about to say something, then closed his mouth shut instead in relief. Tears were welling up in the man’s eyes, his lips trembling.

Then he wailed loudly and ran towards the white-haired male, promptly causing both bodies to slam into the angular stairs. “Ugk!” came a strangled sound from Kaneki. “Banjou-sa--”

“KANEKIIIIIIIIII! DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS? THINKING YOU WERE DEAD, THEN TSUKIYAMA LEFT, THEN AOGIRI TOOK HINAMI, THEN THERE WAS NO ONE LEFT?! YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND OUR PAIN OF HAVING TO LIE LOW, THEN REALISE THAT YOU’RE IN THE CCG TO NEVER APPROACH YOU! WAAAAAAA!”

Kaneki had hit his head hard on the stairs but the tight hug prevented him from even reaching behind to check for injuries. His head pounded. And the incessant whining did not help. Really, how old was this man?!

The wailing continued for a few seconds, before Ichimi, Jiro and Sante jumped in to make it a pile of crying bodies. While the rest of the residents of the Chatwo judged the pile with Hinami quickly escaping the men, Kaneki tried to console the four.

“Banjou-san, as you can see, I am alive and well. You don’t have to cry anymore,” Kaneki tried to no avail. The crying just went increasingly louder and louder.

A few minutes, which felt like an eternity to the gasping-for-oxygen man, the pile finally dispersed. Sighing, Kaneki asked them, “So. Now that all the crying is done, why are you guys here?”

Everyone ignored Nishiki’s jab at them being babies.

“You see... There was a news article published a few days ago about a raid consisting of a squad of ghouls. We did gather some information over the years and knew that your name in the CCG was Sasaki Haise, which was one of the names of the squad leaders of this squad. Of course, the members of this group were mentioned by their code names and without fail, we recognised them! So it just had to be you, Kaneki!” Banjou revealed, the three others nodding their head enthusiastically behind him.

“We asked around and gathered more information, and we were led to this house, just today, so we immediately headed here to find you!” Banjou happily cheered. “I see that little Hinami has grown into such a fine lady!”

Ayato growled softly.

Kaneki regretted not finding them sooner. “Uhm, but, you DO know that I can’t just... uhm... let you guys in, right?” Kaneki awkwardly told them. Yes, paperwork was needed. A LOT of paperwork.

Banjou stared at Kaneki, pouting, eyes watering.

He really was a kid.

“Fine. I’ll see what I can do.”

* * *

The ghoul chuckled while biting his nails, a maniacal grin stretching from ear to ear. **“Heehee... Heehee! This. This is going to be so FUN! HEEHEE! DestROY! HAHAHA! HEHEHE!”**

He was perching on the roof of a nearby building, staring down upon a shop in the first ward. **“Heehee... It has such an interesting name! Heehee... It starts with the same letters as...‘REVENGE’! I wonder if I could… heehee, a great idea! Eto-san will be pleased indeed. Heeheehee!”**

The ghoul leapt off the building, landing lightly on the pavement in front of the shop. It was dark inside, its owners having closed and vacated a long while ago. The signboard with the shop’s name was still placed outside. His eyes darted from side to side, making sure no one was nearby. Then he eagerly drew out his kagune, and it emerged from his upper back, white and deadly, prepared to attack.

**“Let’s begIN!!!”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: [Kato] I'M REALLY SORRY FOR THE BAD CHAPTER BUT REALLY EPICNESS WILL START SOON


	31. Foreshadowing

Touka rushed into the living room, responding to a sudden call from Kaneki for the ghouls to gather. His face took on a worried expression when he saw her enter, and she was immediately suspicious of the sheet of paper he was holding tightly in his hands.

"What is it, Kaneki?" she asked, as the other Chatwo residents came in.

"Wait. Is everyone here? Yomo?" The older ghoul nodded at him from where he was sitting.

"What is it?" she repeated, more anxiously.

"A report just came in from the CCG. :re has been destroyed."

* * *

Everyone headed over as quickly as they could to where the cafe previously stood. It had been a small coffee shop, drawing in a modest number of customers each day, even after their opening times drastically changed due to work at CCG, people still came swarming for its wonderfully brewed coffee. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. It wasn't some secret gathering place or anything, though ghouls did come frequently in knowledge that it was run by their fellows. It was just a shop that two weary ghouls had set up and worked hard to maintain, as they clung onto past memories and the hope that everything would go back to what it once was.

And now it was gone.

All that was left of the little coffee shop :re was a large pile of ruins and debris, cordoned off from passers-by who were too curious for their own good. Shattered glass had been strewn about, and bent metal cutlery stuck out from the wreck. Coffee grounds had been spilled everywhere. It was unbelievable to think that this pile of rubble had once been their cafe. Yet it was.

Hinami had covered her mouth with her hands, shocked at the devastation, while Ayato just seemed surprised. Nishiki was trying not to look overly bothered, but Kaneki could tell from the frown on his face that he was. Banjou and his followers were crying openly. Arata and Yomo were quiet, though Yomo was staring much more intently at the debris. His best friend Hide stood beside him, his hands in his pockets. "Do you think it's a sign?" he asked Kaneki.

"Probably," he replied. He was almost certain that it had been Aogiri who had done this, as a threat of some sort. The report had mentioned that white kagune shards had been found in the ruins. A ghoul with a white Ukaku. It was highly unlikely that Eto would have come down herself, though who else would share her distinctive kagune? Maybe it was… never mind. The identity of this Aogiri Ukaku wasn't his main concern right now. The blue-haired Ukaku standing before the rubble was, her shoulders trembling slightly.

When news of the destruction came, she had been the first one to run over to :re, and she'd planted herself in front of the cafe ever since. Kaneki had never thought of Touka as sentimental, so he didn't think she'd be overly affected by this. Maybe she'd rage, but not become so distant like this. _She's changed a lot…_ he thought. And he hadn't been around to see it.

He sidled up next to her, staying silent all the while, and took her hand in his. Touka glanced up at him. Kaneki smiling sadly down at her. "I'm sorry I wasn't with you at :re. I… "

She turned away from him and pointed. "Look."

Kaneki turned his gaze to where she had gestured towards. A signboard lay broken not far from them on the pavement. He released his grip on her hand, walking over to prop the signboard back up. _:re's signboard… it hadn't been destroyed…?_ With a small gasp, he realized that more letters had been carved into the signboard below the cafe's name.

":re… :reVENGE," he murmured.  

"They destroyed it," Touka whispered, clenching her fists. "They destroyed everything."

He went back to her side. "I'm sure we can rebuild..."

" _Rebuild_?" said Touka, her hair falling around her face. "Rebuild?"

"Yes, I mean it's not like..." Suddenly she fell to her knees, and she punched the ground.

"When Anteiku fell, we _rebuilt_!" she hissed. "And it's been fucking destroyed AGAIN!" Touka jumped back up, facing him. "You have _no_ idea how much we put into :re. You have _no_ idea how much we tried to bring back what the manager's always wanted. You have _no_ idea how much it'd take to fucking _rebuild_. And do you know why? Damn it, do you know _why_ , Kaneki?" The ghouls behind them looked at each other, unsettled.

Kaneki looked at the ground. "Because I wasn't there."

"Because you weren't there," she said. "Because you weren't there." She wrapped her arms around herself, her head bowed.

"Touka… Touka, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not being there. I'm sorry :re got destroyed."

"Well, it's not your fault, now is it?" Touka said bitterly. "It's not your fault." She took a deep breath. She looked away for a whole minute. "... I'm sorry I burst out at you. I'm sorry. I just..." she looked back up at him, and her eyes were brimming with the tears she had been fighting to keep back. "Everything's happening again. People are going to die again. And you might..." she pursed her lips. "I don't want to think about it."

Kaneki blinked. Had Touka always been this mad at him for being absent from :re? She hadn't shown any outward sign of it before. True, it wasn't his fault… still, Kaneki felt responsible somehow. It was he who suggested the idea to begin all these raids on Aogiri, wasn't it? It was he who didn't return to :re sooner. It was he who had failed to protect his friends. Again.

"I won't let it happen," he told her.

"Won't let what happen?"

"I won't let Anteiku happen again." Kaneki stared right into her eyes. "I promise."

"How… how can you be so sure? How can you be so sure they won't..."

"I'm sure," he said. "Because I've already promised." He stepped forward, and enveloped her in a tight hug. "We can do this. We can do this."

"Kaneki..."

"What is it?"

"Thank you."

* * *

"You can go faster than this, Haise!" Arima yelled, dodging an attack from Kaneki.

Earlier, he had received word that the ghoul cafe :re had been destroyed, and Haise had gone over to the coffee shop with his friends. He had been worried that it would be another blow to Haise, so soon after the Gourmet died during the raid on Aogiri's main base. Arima had considered visiting the Chatwo to comfort him, but decided against it in the end, since he would probably only cause tension in the ghoul squad's residence. He was infamous to them as the CCG's Reaper, after all.

Unexpectedly, Haise had barged into his office immediately after seeing :re, asking him to train his combat skills. It seemed that the destruction of the cafe affected him much differently from the death of the Gourmet, not that Arima was complaining. He was glad to see Haise back to normal and so determined to improve himself for the CCG and his friends. Arima couldn't possible have rejected his request.

Though, training with a full kakuja was still rather disconcerting for him.

In this form, Haise's strength and speed had been increased massively. While he didn't have the monstrous firepower of the One-Eyed Owl, he was much more agile, and was practically bouncing off the quinque steel walls, attacking him from all directions. The giant centipede-like kagune were a great help to his defense as well, since it was covered in some sort of carapace that made it hard to penetrate. Combined with his eight fast-moving tentacles and high regeneration rate, Haise was indeed a ghoul to be reckoned with it. And that's not to mention the added boost from his half-ghoul status.

Arima fired several lightning bolts at Haise with Narukami, and he jumped away from it easily, rebounding off the wall towards the older investigator. Arima quickly mode changed Narukami, fending off Haise’s attack with the blade. He made several quick slices towards the half-ghoul, who sidestepped each attack, then mode changed it again to fire more lightning bolts at him. They hit Haise’s arm, though the burn soon healed itself. “You can be more creative in your attacks!” Arima told him.

“Yes, Arima-san!” Hearing a kakuja speak to him so familiarly like that was rather unnerving, too.

Haise’s eight kagune tentacles molded together, forming a giant Rinkaku claw, which smashed down onto the floor where Arima had been standing. He raced forward to severe the claw, but it separated into its individual tentacles, piercing into the floor around Arima so that he couldn’t move anywhere. The two centipede kagune then jabbed towards him. He had to slice through several of Haise’s Rinkaku for him to escape, barely missing his attack.

“Good! Again!”

* * *

A familiar blonde investigator entered his cell once again, and this time, he kept his gaze up at her.

“Hello,” he said.

She granted him a small smile that warmed his heart. “Hello, Amon.”

“What does the CCG want to find out from me today?”

She sat at the table, bringing out her notebook and pen. “We understand from your previous interrogation that you have been watching Aogiri Tree for a long time now.”

“Yes.”

“You have also mentioned that Dr Kanou was experimenting on half-ghouls to help Aogiri ‘achieve far greater power’. Do you know what the One-Eyed Owl meant by that?”

He nodded. “They… they want to create an army of half-ghouls.”

“What? Really?” She seemed to shiver.

“Yes. As I mentioned, Kanou was finding out ways to turn people into half-ghouls, or find out the source of the half-ghouls’ power.”

“And what would they do with that army of half-ghouls? Attack the CCG?”

Amon nodded again. “The goal of Aogiri Tree is to completely subjugate the human race to carve a place in the world for the ghouls. Their attempts so far have been unsuccessful, thanks to the vigilance of the CCG, so they’ve decided to remove the biggest obstacle to their progress.”

“So how _do_ they turn people into half-ghouls?”

“A common technique is to inject Rc stimulants into a human subject, allowing a kakuhou to form naturally. Sometimes they would transplant a kakuhou from a donor ghoul. They need to inject the stimulants first because that decreases the chances of the body rejecting the ghoul organ, but there is still a chance the transplant fails, and the subject becomes a Floppy -- what Kanou calls his failed experiments.”

“Rc stimulants?”

“Yes. They are like the CCG’s Rc suppressants, but have the opposite effect.”

“Have they managed to give ghouls the power of half-ghouls?”

“No, I don’t believe so. But Kanou certainly has been trying.”

“Hmm. Interesting. Who are the half-ghouls that you know of?”

“Let me think… The Yasuhisa twins, for one, though they are Floppies like me. One of them had died, so only one of the twins are left. The Eyepatch. Two humans at least, both codenamed “Owl”, with the Non-Killing Owl’s kakuhou transplanted. The One-Eyed Owl. And Takizawa.” His voice dropped when he mentioned his former comrade’s name. Akira’s hand trembled slightly as she wrote notes.

“And what are Aogiri’s current plans? How soon would they launch this half-ghoul army?”

He sighed. “I’m not sure about that either. Their main priority seems to be recruiting more ghouls and finding ways to increase their numbers. They have various bases around Tokyo, and their main one is always shifting, spending only about one to two weeks in each location.”

“... I see. We have to be more wary of Aogiri from this point onwards. Just today, the cafe that Rabbit and Raven were working in had been destroyed. We believe that they are going to act soon.”

Amon waited for her to continue. “As such, you have been given two options. One, to be held in Cochlea for further interrogations.

And two, to work with Kaneki Ken under his squad along with the CCG.”

* * *

“Bring them in.”

A ghoul with a long, black ponytail came into the room, rolling in two metal tables at the same time. Each had large, broad-shouldered ghouls lying unconscious on top of them. The two were nearly identical. A little bandaged girl stood quietly in the corner, watching the surgery intently.

Kanou pulled on his gloves, then picked up one of his surgical knives.

“Operating on two at a time, Dr Kanou?” The girl asked.

“Yes, Eto-san. It will be difficult, but it will be worth it when we finish this.” He turned back to his experimental subjects. “It looks like they’re beginning to awake.”

“G-gagi?!” yelled one.

“Kague Gau!! Guge!!”

“As I tell all my patients, Gagi-kun and Guge-kun, the operation will only be more painful if you continue to struggle.”

“Naki!! Gakuooo!!”

“Don’t worry about Naki-kun. He is unharmed. He only believes you two are dead, and that I have taken you two in to ‘save’ you.” He chuckled, and went up to Gagi’s side. “We’ll begin with you, first.”

Gagi’s garbled screams filled the operating room, and so did Guge’s, who could not tear his eyes away from the sight of his twin being cut apart.


	32. Date

“That’s enough for today, Haise.”

He was panting, unsteady on his feet. “But I… I can still train... “

“Haise, you’re about to fall over.” Arima went up to the younger investigator and helped him sit against the wall, his kagune retracting into his back. They’d been training for over six hours and Haise’s kakuja use had taken a toll on his stamina. Even his fast Rinkaku regeneration rate was slowing down. “You should rest.”

“Fine.” He leaned his head back, closing his eyes.

Arima sighed, rubbing a sore spot in his arm. During a rare break during their training, Haise had suggested that he start training with the other kagune that Kanou had implanted into him, since they might come in useful in any battle with Aogiri Tree. He especially wanted to try out Owl’s Ukaku, knowing the strength of its firepower. As the senior investigator, Arima was responsible for the wellbeing of his subordinates, and he couldn’t possibly allow Haise to do something so dangerous. What if he went berserk again? Arima doubted he could stop Haise if he had all four kagune out, even with his famed combat skills.

He hadn’t been happy with his decision, of course, but he didn’t have any choice but to listen to orders. Arima had even warned him not to try out the other kagune without his supervision.

Haise flopped over, eyes still closed. _He must be exhausted if he can sleep in such a position,_ thought Arima. It was high time that he took another break from work. He didn’t want his son to be overworking himself. Haise was too important to the CCG -- and to him, for that matter -- to be always tired out like this.

“Let’s bring you home,” he said. Arima lifted Haise up into his arms, and exited the training room.

* * *

Kaneki opened his eyes to find himself on his bed, his body aching in a hundred places. He staggered off his bed with a groan, stretching and massaging himself. How on earth did he come back here? Surely Arima hadn’t  _carried_ him back. That would’ve been too out of character for the stoic Reaper. Plus he didn’t like visiting the Chatwo either. Maybe he had asked someone else to bring him back.

A knock on his bedroom door startled him out of his thoughts. “Come in.”

“Finally awake?” Touka asked, closing the door behind her. “Here. I think you’ll drink it this time.” And she passed to him a mug of hot coffee.

“Oh. Thank you.” He took a careful sip from it. “It tastes great.”

She smiled at him. “The Shinigami said you weren’t to be awoken, but it looks like you’ve waken up on your own.”

“The Shinigami?” Kaneki said. “Arima-san brought me here?”

“Yea. He was carrying you in his arms himself. Pretty funny, if you ask me.”

“He carried me in his--” Kaneki’s jaw dropped. “That’s… uh…” He stared into his coffee, unwilling to think about the implications. Touka snickered at his expression.

“Don’t worry, I doubt he’s gay for you,” she grinned. “But the evidence does really point to that, doesn’t it? Letting you sleep in his lap when you were recovering, carrying you to bed…” Touka couldn’t end her sentence as she doubled over in laughter. “Damn, he loves you, Kaneki!”

“Stop it!” Kaneki hissed. “It’s not like that! He’s a-- he’s like a father to me.”

“Alright, alright,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye. “I don’t know why I’m teasing you like this. Nagachika’s the one responsible for that.”

Kaneki shook his head, chuckling a little. “I’m glad to see you so happy.” He winced as a sharp pain surged through his back. “I’m still hurting from training.”

“That’s your own fault,” Touka said, gently shoving him. “Unlike you, I still need to train.”

“You’re training?”

“What do you think? You’re not the only one who wants to get stronger.” She turned to leave, then-- “Go rest, Kaneki. Don’t strain yourself, okay?” And she exited his room.

Kaneki listened to her footsteps going down the stairs, before taking another long sip from his coffee.

* * *

_“Haise, you’re awake already?”_

“Yes, Arima-san. Touka-chan had informed me that you had brought me back to the Chatwo. Thank you.”

_“I-- well-- you’re welcome, Haise. Go back to sleep. You’ll need the energy if you still want to train tomorrow.”_

“But I’m not tired, Arima-san!”

 _“Haise--”_ There was a pause on the other side of the line. _“Never mind. You have the day off. Do what you want.”_

“Really, Arima-san?”

_“Yes, really.”_

There was a long pause before he continued.

_“Actually, why don’t you go out on another date?”_

“Wh-- a DATE?! With, with Touka-chan?”

_“Yes. It is important that you spend more time with your squad members anyway so that you can work more cohesively together in battle.”_

“But Arima-san--”

 _“This is not a suggestion, Haise. This is an order. Just make sure I don’t see a half-dead investigator at training tomorrow.”_ Arima hung up.

Kaneki stared at his phone in disbelief. Arima Kishou, the CCG’s Death Reaper, had just ordered him to go on a date. Well, if Arima wanted him to go on a date with Touka so badly, then he probably wasn’t gay for him.

Probably.

He stowed his phone back into his pocket and went downstairs to look for the blue-haired ghoul.

* * *

“Where are we going this time?” Touka asked, her footsteps falling in rhythm with his.

“Ehm, we went to the bookstore last time, so, uh, I’m guessing you don’t want to go there again?” Kaneki stammered.

“I wouldn’t mind, though I would rather go somewhere new,” she said, tilting her head towards him. “No ideas at all?”

Kaneki scratched his chin. “Ah, how ‘bout the movies, then? I think there was a movie that was released recently… What was it called? _The Wring_?”

Touka gave him a look. “ _The Ring_? You want to watch that?”

“Yea! It seems popular.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “If you say so… but don’t scream if you’re scared.”

Kaneki didn’t really know what Touka meant by that, but it probably wasn’t important. How scary could a movie titled _The Wring_ be? Something about laundry, probably. Then he wondered why a movie about laundry would be so popular… eh, not important either.

“Let’s hurry over then!”

* * *

“Touka-chan,  _this_ is the movie?”

Kaneki had turned pale white upon seeing the movie poster. Several ghostly looking letters spelling “The Ring” were arranged in a literal ghostly ring. “Where’s the W? _The Wring_?”

“The Wri-- Kaneki, where the hell have you been for the past few weeks? Why would a movie be called _The Wring_ ?” she exclaimed. “This is _The Ring_. It’s a horror movie.”

“A-- A horror movie. Right.” Kaneki licked his lips.

“Do you still want to see it?” Touka asked, smirking a little.

“Wh-- of course! Why wouldn’t I want to see it? I can’t possibly be scared by something like _this_ ,” he scoffed. “What could be scarier than Aogiri Tree?”

“Uh, are you still going to buy your tickets, sir?” asked the cashier.

“I…” A drop of sweat rolled down the side of his head as Touka gave him an even wider smirk. “TWO TICKETS, PLEASE!”

* * *

“This isn’t that bad,” said Kaneki, munching on his popcorn. “It’s not that scary. It’s not that scary.”

“Kaneki, shut up. You’ve been repeating that to yourself for the past half an hour,” Touka whispered, clearly aware of the glares some of the other viewers were throwing at them. “And you do realize you can’t eat that, right?”

He quickly spit out all the food in his mouth.

As the movie progressed, Kaneki found himself descending into deeper and deeper levels of horror, while Touka didn’t seem to be affected by any of the scary cinematic effects. Despite all his self-assurances, he kept trembling in his seat, going so far as to latch onto Touka’s arm during the more terrifying scenes. Touka turned towards him with an amused gaze the fourth time she felt his tight grip on her right arm.

“Are you okay, Kaneki?” Touka asked. “We can go out, if you want.”

“I’m fine,” he retorted. “I’m just-- I’m just cold!”

“And grabbing my arm?”

“I… I wanted to make sure you weren’t scared or anything!”

She gave him a sidelong glance. “If you say so.”

And she took his hand in hers, just so he couldn’t grab onto her arm again. Admittedly it did help calm him down a lot, to feel her warmth against his, and he was able to keep quiet for nearly the entire movie. What had he been scared of, in the first place? Of the supposedly cursed video? Of the ghost in it? Come on, ghosts didn’t exist. He was Kaneki Ken, the feared Centipede! He had fought swarms of ghouls, been tortured twice over, and still survived! What could he _possibly_ be scared of?

The scene moved to show a television in a dark apartment. No, nothing scary yet. The television suddenly turned itself on. _Is that supposed to happen…?_ thought Kaneki. A well flickered onto the television screen, and a sinister-looking girl with black hair crawled out of it. _Haha, Touka’s way scarier than that!_ The girl started moving towards the edge of the screen, towards him, her long black hair hiding her face…

The girl crawled right out of the television.

Kaneki screamed. Instinctively, his Rinkaku rushed out from his back, with one of the tentacles reaching upwards to wrap around his eyes. Screams erupted from all around the movie theatre, which only made Kaneki scream even more.

 _“Kaneki!_ ” Touka hissed. “WHAT THE FUCK?! _”_

“ _GET AWAY FROM ME_!” he screeched.

“IT’S A GHOUL!!” someone wailed. The other viewers were shouting and crying as they dashed out of the theatre.

“Oh, fuck it--” Touka grabbed his hand and tugged him out of his seat, pulling him towards the other exit. He stumbled, since his eyes were still covered by his kagune, but she kept pressing him on.

“Retract your kagune, we’re out of the theatre.” Kaneki slowly lowered the Rinkaku tentacle away from his eye, and once he had seen they were in some tunnel, he fully retracted the Rinkaku into his back. Touka stood in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Kaneki, are you going to explain what the hell just happened?” she said, raising an eyebrow.

He scratched the back of his head. “Uhh… I was creating more paperwork for the Chatwo?”

“Oh my god, Kaneki,” Touka groaned. “Let’s just go somewhere else before the damn CCG comes and arrests the both of us.”

* * *

They had entered a coffee shop a good distance away from the movie theatre when Kaneki received a call on his phone.

“Hello?” Kaneki said. He turned pale. “Oh, Arima-san. What? The-- the CCG? Oh. Yes. Yes, Arima-san. No, no I didn’t-- kind of. I kind of did. Okay.” He chewed his lip. “I’m sorry Arima-san.” Kaneki breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh. Thank you Arima-san! Thank you so much.” And he put away his phone.

“What did the CCG say?” Touka asked.

“They were angry with me and want me to report back to HQ immediately. But Arima-san said that he’s managed to persuade them to let me off, given my track record.”

“Well, then it’s over, isn’t it?”

Kaneki sighed. “I still have to submit a report to HQ about what happened. Agh, this is so embarrassing!” He gulped down his coffee. “Akira-san is going to kill me!”

Touka laughed, which drew an ire look from Kaneki. “What’s so funny?”

“I can’t believe you were so scared,” she chuckled. “And you even had to use your kagune?”

His face flooded with colour again. “Well I-- damn.” He closed his eyes. “That was a disaster.”

She laughed again. “Ah, forget it, Kaneki. I’m not going to tell anyone, so only the CCG’s going to bug you about it. And myself, of course.”

“You’re not going to ever let me live it down, will you?”

“Nope.”

“What if I treat you to another cup of coffee?”

“Nice try, Kaneki.”

* * *

They returned to the Chatwo in the late afternoon after spending time simply talking to each other over many mugs of coffee. Kaneki fumbled the key into the door lock, holding the door open for her. “Uh, you can go in first!” he said awkwardly.

He was granted a small smile for that, and he followed her in. “Sorry about today, Touka-chan.”

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It was really amusing, actually.”

“That was amusing?” Kaneki asked, confused. She’d been cursing at him throughout the entire time he had been screaming in the movie theatre.

“Kaneki Ken screaming like a child isn’t something you’d see everyday,” she teased. “I don’t know when’s the next time you’ll be free, but we should go out again.”

He blushed. “Like… on another date?”

“What else?” She sidled closer to him. “Thank you for today, Kaneki.” And she reached up to kiss him on the cheek.

Kaneki widened his eyes, and his jaw nearly dropped to the floor. His face was completely flushed when he replied, “Th-- th-- thank you t-- too.”

Touka covered her mouth and giggled. _Wow, she’s grown so feminine._ He’d keep that thought to himself though, or they won’t have a room to sleep in. Touka interrupted his thoughts, “Hey, the night’s still young. What do you want to do?”

Kaneki wondered for a while before a smile spread across his face. _“Let it be so. The first inter’gatory That my_ Touka-chan _shall be sworn on is Whether till the next night she had rather stay, Or go to bed now, being two hours to day. But were the day come, I should wish it dark Till i were couching with the_ cafe’s _clerk.”_

Touka blinked for a while, realising that Kaneki was quoting from an English book which she took some time to translate in her mind.

“Oh my God YOU CHEESY PRICK!” she yelled before smacking Kaneki on his arm hard and dragging him into their bedroom and slamming the door, effectively passing on the message to all the residents that they would not tolerate being interrupted that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: [Kato] Hey guys! If you don't understand the quote, it's from The Merchant of Venice, in the last act (Act 5 Scene 1) where the play is about to come to an end and Gratiano is asking Nerissa if they want to have ... sex. ((*cough* we are too young for this but it was our literature book this year so... XD))


	33. Declaration

Kaneki seated himself next to Hide at the long conference table. Right when he and Arima were about to begin training, the Bureau Director had summoned all the high-ranking investigators for an urgent meeting. There were familiar faces all around -- Juuzou was playing with his knives in one corner, and Akira was seated not far down from him, wearing her usual serious expression. But then another familiar face sat himself in the empty seat next to Kaneki, and he nearly jumped in surprise.

“Amon-san?!

The former investigator, now a half-ghoul, raised one curved eyebrow at him.  “You are… the Eyepatch?”

“Ah, I, yes. I’m the Eyepatch,” Kaneki said, slightly embarrassed that Amon had recognized him by his ghoul alias. “But most people in the CCG call me Sasaki Haise. Or you can use my real name, Kaneki Ken, if you want.”

Amon snorted.  “I think I’ll stick to calling you Eyepatch.”

“Eyepatch, eh?” Hide cut in. “He doesn’t even wear one anymore! Maybe you should call him Bookworm instead. Or maybe Zebrahair. Or maybe even Mr I-Just-Lost-My-V--”

“Hide!” Kaneki hissed, his cheeks turning red.

“Sorry,” his best friend said with a wink, turning away from them to let them converse.

The heat having died down from face, Kaneki asked, “How are you here, Amon-san? Didn’t they take you to Cochlea?”

“They did. They interrogated me a few times, then released me."

"That easily?" Kaneki remembered he had been remanded in Cochlea for a long time while he was recovering from his torture.

"Yes. They've looked at my track record, and were lenient," he said. Then he smiled slightly. "And I suppose it helps that _she_ was put in charge of me." Amon gestured towards Akira. The blond investigator caught his gaze and put on a smile of her own.

Suddenly the doors to the conference room swung open, and all the investigators snapped their heads towards them, standing to acknowledge the Bureau Director's entrance. Yoshitoki Washuu strided into the room, nodding to people here and there, and took his place at the head of the table. On most days the Director was friendly and in high spirits, unlike the rest of his clan, but today he seemed much more like what a normal Washuu should be like. His face was deadpan and serious, as if something had sucked all the life out of him. Kaneki knew the other investigators could tell too, for more than one shifted uncomfortably, sensing bad news from the Director.

"Please sit," he said, and they followed his order.

The Director steepled his hands, resting his head against them. "This meeting is rather urgent, so I will get to the point. All of you know of the Aogiri attack on the ghoul cafe, :RE, yes?" All around the room, the senior investigators nodded. Some glanced towards Kaneki, who tried to act unfazed by the attention.

"This morning, Aogiri has attacked another cafe, Shokushu, which we have been told is run by ghouls." The Director paused, and the investigators looked to him expectantly. "Shokushu… is in the 2nd Ward."

The conference room burst into shocked exclamations. "The 2nd Ward? That can't be!"

"But that's one of our most patrolled areas!"

"How could they have gotten away with this attack in broad daylight?!"

The Director held up a hand for silence. "This was extremely recent news, so we do not know everything. I have doubled our numbers in the 1st and 2nd Ward, and sent investigators to the remains of Shokushu. But this attack has far-reaching implications. Aogiri is getting bolder in its attacks. It has killed not only humans, but even its own kind."

He looked around the room, as if he was waiting for someone to speak. Next to Kaneki, Amon raised his hand. "May I speak, Director?"

"Ah, Special Class Investigator Amon. It has been long. Do speak."

"I know of Shokushu. When I was living out on the streets as a-- ghoul, I had visited the cafe. Its owners had been inspired by a previous ghoul cafe, Anteiku, which was destroyed during the Owl Suppression Operation. They took me in for a while, and I can say they are completely peaceful. They do not wish war upon humans like Aogiri Tree does. And I think it is safe to assume that their ghoul customers are of similar thinking." He finished his report and sat back down.

The Director stroked his faded goatee, deep in thought. "So they are attacking ghouls opposed to their ideology."

"But what drives it? What has given it the confidence to attack so boldly?" Arima asked. "Is it desperation? The ghoul squad did deal it heavy damage during their raid on its main base."

The Director nodded. "That could be one factor. But recent intelligence tells us that they have also obtained more power: the ability to turn humans into half-ghouls." Mutterings filled the room, disapproving and disgusted. "Amon-san has given us much-needed information regarding this unique surgery of Aogiri's. It is a game changer, for sure. Something must be done."

"Director, are you proposing…?" asked Matsuri Washuu, his son. There was a cold gleam in the younger Washuu's eyes.

"Unfortunately, it has come to this. We are facing a situation that is growing more and more dangerous by the day. We need to take decisive action before it spirals out of control." The Director stood up abruptly.

"We will go to war with Aogiri."

* * *

 The headquarters was all abuzz with the Director's unexpected declaration. The news that Aogiri had the power to turn anyone into a half-ghoul had sent all the CCG staff into a frenzy.  Everyone was rushing about, making preparations for this grand operation which would wipe out Aogiri once and for all. The senior investigators had all received their orders, and they were to carry them out within two weeks. Kaneki and Hide had both been briefed by Arima, who had taken instructions from the Director himself.

"You two are the CCG's appointed leaders of the ghoul squad, and it's going to play a very important part in this operation."

"What will we be doing, Arima-san?"

"For now, there is not much that you need to do. You are to be the CCG's special combat forces during the battle, so we don't want any of you to get injured. But you must train. Your entire squad needs to train. If Aogiri really makes use of this new ability of theirs, every single one of you needs to be skilled enough to take on a half-ghoul on your own."

"In _two_ weeks?"

"Yes. It is not much time. The Director is anxious to act before Aogiri strikes, or we wouldn't stand a chance. You need to do your best. Both of you."

"And what will you be doing, Arima-san?" Kaneki was rather curious.

"I cannot say. The Director has committed me to secrecy." He offered a rare smile to the two younger investigators. "I trust you'll be able to do it."

"Yes, Arima-san!"

As they exited HQ, Amon ran up to them. "Amon-san?" Kaneki asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I have been assigned to your squad as a condition for my release, since I'm, ah, a ghoul." Amon shook his head. "Anyway, I will make sure to do my best in this capacity. I hope we can work together well to take down Aogiri Tree."

"Ah, no need to be so formal!" Kaneki insisted, knowing how it felt like to be a half-ghoul.

"You're one of us now!" Hide said, beaming. "Uh, saying that as the only human in the ghoul squad..."

"Thank you. I appreciate that."

The three of them returned to the Chatwo, and Amon marveled at the size of the house they had been granted. "All this? For one squad?"

"Our squad is much larger than most in the CCG, you see..." he opened the door, and they found Touka, Arata, Yomo, Kanae and Banjou sitting in the living room and watching TV. Amon widened his eyes at the number of high ranking ghouls in one place. The five turned to look at them, then quickly stood up upon noticing the newcomer.

"Who are you?" Touka demanded. "Kaneki?"

"Don't worry! He's a friend!" said Kaneki. He and Hide ushered Amon in. "Actually, he's joining our squad."

Amon was still on guard from all the ghouls around him, and stood stiffly as he introduced himself. "Good afternoon, my name is Amon Koutarou. I'll do my best as the new member of your squad."

The five ghouls looked at each other, then sat back down, deeming him as not a threat. "Where are you from, Amon-san?" Arata asked.

"I used to be a ghoul investigator, but I was captured by Aogiri and turned into a-- a half-ghoul."

The older ghoul nodded, understanding. "Don't worry, Amon-san. You'll fit in just fine. Kaneki-san is a half-ghoul too, after all."

Hide clapped a hand onto Amon's shoulder. "I can show you to your room, if you want." And he led the senior investigator away, upstairs.

Kaneki turned back to the four ghouls who were still in the living room. "Right, I have news for everyone… where is Nishiki, Ayato, and Hinami?"

"I don't know about shitty four-eyes, but Ayato and Hinami have went out," Touka replied.

"Again?" Kaneki was getting suspicious of how often Ayato was taking his little sister out of the Chatwo. What on earth were they doing? Ah, he supposed he'd just have to tell them when they got back. "Never mind. This is more important." He repeated to them the instructions he had received from Arima. The ghouls had varied reactions.

"So the CCG wants to use us as their dogs again?" Touka said, shrugging. "I don't see a difference."

"An all out war with Aogiri?!" Banjou said. "That sounds TERRIFYING!"

“Ah! _Aufregend_! (Exciting!)” said Kanae, flipping his hair backwards.

"We should be careful, Ken," Yomo said. Arata agreed with him. "There's no telling what Aogiri could do."

"I think we'll be receiving more orders later on, so for now, we just need to train," said Kaneki. "And I've an idea."

* * *

 It was crowded in the training room in the Chatwo's basement. Eight ghouls (and a human) had gathered against one of the quinque steel walls, while two half-ghouls stood on the other side. Every single one of them had their kagune (and quinque) out.

"Alright, we'll start with everyone rushing the two of us!" kakuja Kaneki said. "Go!"

Arima had wanted everyone to become strong enough to take down a half-ghoul. He and Amon were already half-ghouls, so there was less need for them to train. As for the others… what better way for them to improve their skills than by fighting against real half-ghouls? Thus the sparring match. In his mind, Kaneki had already ranked his opponents according to their firepower.

Touka and Yomo fired a heavy barrage of Ukaku shards towards Kaneki and Amon, who leapt around their side of the room, dodging each wave of crystals. Kanae, Hide and Banjou's three followers then moved in for a close-range attack, with kakuja Arata and Banjou right in front of them to block any attacks from the two half-ghouls. A good system for the early stage of the fight, but it wouldn't last very long if Kaneki knew what he was doing.

Hide leapt out from behind Arata, slashing his quinque Ryuki towards him. It was a sharp Koukaku quinque, with the appearance of a two-handed long sword. A good medium-range weapon that effectively keeps enemies at bay, while still close enough to slice them easily. Kaneki ducked under Hide’s quinque, and sent his Rinkaku towards him, an attack that was intercepted by Arata’s kakuja armour. The tentacles stabbed into the hard Koukaku armour without seeming to damaging Arata at all. The older ghoul then turned to grab one of the tentacles, which was cut off by Hide’s quinque. _Wrong move!_ Kaneki thought.

Out of Arata’s grip, Kaneki jumped forward, and his two kakuja tentacles smashed into both of them at the same time, sending Hide flying and Arata sprawled on the floor. “Th...that hurt, Kaneki,” Hide said, wincing as he tried to get up.

Kaneki only grinned at him. “You really are much faster, Kaneki-san,” Arata remarked.

To his right, Amon had already overpowered the four in Banjou’s group _and_ Kanae, with several well-aimed swipes with his Bikaku. Kanae was leaning back against the wall, tired, with part of his Rinkaku tail sliced off. Even the sturdy Banjou was no match for the strength Amon’s kagune held, and the ghoul was lying unconscious on the floor. Touka and Yomo stood awkwardly at their side of the training room, unsure of what to do now that most of their team had been taken out in just several minutes. Kaneki was sure he heard Touka muttering something rude. “Uh, since most everyone’s, uh, incapacitated, how about we take a break?” he suggested.

“We probably should,” said Amon. “And you’ve gotten much better, Eyepatch.”

“The same could be said to you, Amon-san.” Kaneki said. “Who’s Amon-ster now?” And he started chuckling to himself.

Even injured and stunned, the other ghouls were either glaring or facepalming at this lame joke of Kaneki’s, while Hide was laughing his guts out.

“What?” Amon asked, confused. “Is there something I missed?”

“Never mind Amon-san, never mind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: [Kato] FIRST CHAPTER OF THE YEAR GUYS! HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU READERS MUAH MUAH MUAH
> 
> [Aelin] I'll do my best to contain Kato's overzealousness.  
> ...and pervertedness


	34. Missions

“I wonder if the ghoul squad’s information is reliable. How would we know if they’re secretly working with Aogiri, huh?” one of the squad members mumbled. 

Another sighed loudly. “Yeah. Why are  _ we _ the one’s in charge of scouting? I mean, everyone in our squad’s at least First Class.”

Urie tried not to grit his teeth when he heard another one pipe up, “Hey, maybe it’s ‘cause of the rookie over there. Heard he was so useless he let himself get captured. Oh! Maybe  _ he’s  _ the one working with Aogiri!”

An Associate Special Class hushed the whole group with a glare and the squad continued to prowl the empty streets of the 1st ward under the cover of night. Urie had thought that the Quinx squad was just a bunch of idiots who only dragged him down the ladder of promotion. But this squad was way worse. He had to admit that Shirazu beat their personality by a hundred times.

Ever since his rescue by none other than the ghoul squad, Urie had put his whole trust into Sasaki and his team. If they said their information was true, then it had to be. Aogiri’s base would no doubt be in the 1st Ward. He so wished that his squad was back together as a team once again. He knew Saiko was on another scouting team on the other side of the 1st ward and though it was left unsaid, he would have much preferred to be on the same squad as her rather than be stuck with a new squad who didn’t trust him. And neither did he trust them.

The squad continued walking, everyone holding a torch in one hand and their quinque cases with the other, moving as silently as possible in case the base really was near. Scouting at midnight had its advantages. The enemy would be inactive and if they were to stumble upon Aogiri, escaping would be easier as they could run into dark streets and hide around corners. Ghouls had no night vision, luckily for the CCG. 

But it had its disadvantages too.

Suddenly a shriek came from the Associate Special Class from before and his body thumped onto the gravel floor, a fluorescent green spike through his jugular. Urie cussed. So Aogiri really was here. And by the looks of the faces of the investigators around him, this squad was inexperienced as heck.

Urie quickly took out his quinque, something he had not touched in forever. The other members followed his lead and formed a circle around the dead body. But they were not prepared for the shard to burst.

The squad was thrown outwards from the force of the impact. Urie hit his head hard on some metal pipes on the wall but ever since becoming a half ghoul, his regeneration speed had increased. Some of the other members were not as lucky. Urie wobbly stood up, hand covering the gash on his head and the other trying to grab onto his quinque. 

If only he could use his kagune.

Dr. Shiba had insisted that their kagune could not be used or they would immediately be dismissed from the job. He had to be selfish. He wanted to help Sasaki and to do that, he had to stay in the CCG. 

He quickly blocked another shower of shards, noting that they were not the same green ones as before.

“There is more than one enemy! Prepare for a fight!” he yelled over the groans and screams. Those that were still capable of fighting stood up to face the ghouls that dropped down from the roofs of the surrounding buildings.

_ Not good, not good, not good! _ Urie kept chanting in his head as he tried to slam a ghoul with his quinque. The Ukaku he was facing was fast, but if he could drag the battle out, it would be fine. But then again, his squad was going to die if he held out the battle for any longer. 

And then the ghoul he was facing crumbled to the ground with around ten red and blue shards poking out from vital points. They were unmistakably the Ukaku shards of one of the Kirishima siblings. Urie’s head shot upward from the directions the shards came from, to see a figure crouching on a lamp post. It seemed like it was Ayato Kirishima from the shape of the shadow with the signature blue scarf around his neck.

“Oi, idiots! Get down and escape!” Ayato yelled as he touched down. The other members could recognise his face immediately and all of them ran off, some supporting a fallen comrades.

Some of the ghouls tried to chase after them but were stopped by two lashing lines of Rinkaku. They looked exactly like Akira Mado’s quinque, but if there were two of them, Fueguchi was certainly here too.

Urie blocked off a few shards before yelling to the male. “Kirishima! There was another scouting squad on the other side of the ward!”

Ayato growled as he kicked a ghoul in the face, slamming the poor thing into a trash can. “Yeah, yeah, leave if you don’t wanna get killed! I’m kinda pissed that our date was cut short because some bastard ghoul was thrown into the cafe we were at!” he yelled harshly as his modified Ukaku beheaded another ghoul.

Fueguchi ran out from the shadows, Koukaku blocking any stray shards that could harm Urie’s squad. “By that, he means that your companions are safe. There were no casualties there, but you better escape if you don’t want Ayato’s Ukaku in your body. Quick, run!” Hinami clarified as she continued to fight of the other ghouls. 

Urie nodded and ran back to headquarters with his squad to quickly treat the injured.

* * *

 

Arima fidgeted in his cloak. Well, technically he stole it from a corpse, but technicalities could wait. He tried to hide IXA under the coat, but there was still an obvious bulge at the side. He should have picked a bigger ghoul to steal this cloak from. Speaking of which, whoever made these cloaks had bad taste and bad quality.  _ If I soaked a rug in blood then let the blood dry to become maroon, then maybe mask the smell, it would look and feel exactly the same as this useless cloak. _

Arima groaned at the fact that he had to move carefully or his glasses would crack.  _ Do ghouls never wear glasses? How do they wear a mask and glasses at the same time? I’m blind like this... I’ll have to inquire about this with Serpent. Haise had told me he wore spectacles too. _ Arima sighed as he slashed another ghoul through the abdomen. He knew the ghoul was dead already and flicked IXA a few times to get rid of as much blood as possible.

Hiding a bloody quinque in this small robe was very very uncomfortable. He was lucky he had the spare clothes that Fura gave him or else he would be getting a business suit soaked with blood by now. Arima made a mental note so apologise to his friend for ruining the shirt.

Apologies could wait, though, as he came across a ladder, leading up to some upper level -- from the sound of it, there seemed to be quite a few ghouls up there. Not to make the day worse, he had to sneak through sewers of all things to get to the base and judging by the increasing number of ghouls that he killed on the way here, this was the ladder leading up to the heart of the Aogiri base.

He would check with a GPS but satellite signals could not reach beneath the ground, unfortunately. Arima groaned as he continued to trudge through the dirty water. He did not want to shine his torch downward or he would be further repulsed by the look of the water than by the smell itself. His mission involved not revealing himself, so entering the base where there were a lot of ghouls was just suicide. 

Death Reapers could die too. They just killed lots of ghouls first.

At the next ladder, Arima climbed up.  _ To hell with masks. _ He thought as he took of the mask and put on his spectacles again. He lifted up the circular drain cover and peered around. There was the sound of running water and the distinctive smell of… lavender.

For God’s sake, was this the shower room?!

He looked at the surroundings. If he came out from this plate, he would emerge from under the sink. Currently there was one cubicle occupied and it seemed the ghoul had just started his shower. Arima quickly pushed himself up, closed the drain cover, and silently walked out.

And he had just walked out from the Lady’s Toilet. 

The day just got even worse.

At least he was fortunate enough not to get caught walking out of the toilet. Arima put on his mask again as he walked around the base.  _ Where would Kanou’s lab be? _ Arima wondered. He followed a single ghoul into a walkway and the mask gave it away that this was just an ordinary ghoul. 

“Excuse me!” Arima faked innocence. “Do you know where Kanou’s lab may be? I have orders to pass something to him.” Arima pointedly looked at the lump under his cloak which was actually IXA.

The ghoul stopped and turned around, glaring suspiciously at him. Arima hoped that this ghoul’s hearing wasn't good enough to hear his rapidly beating heart. The ghoul sighed finally. “Are you new here?” he asked. Arima nodded quickly. “If you go down the stairs, it’s the second last storey which would be... five storeys down? Also a warning, don’t go any further down. Everyone is forbidden to go down to the last storey, and who knows what kind of monster is down there. Anyway, I have to go, newbie, see ya around.” The ghoul waved a hand and walked off. 

_ Newbie he says. Indeed, see you around. _ Arima thought as he went in search of the stairs, which he found a few minutes of roaming later. 

He walked down the stairs to the correct level and pushed the heavy metal door open. It seemed that Kanou’s lab took up the whole floor. And apparently Kanou did not lock the door to his secret findings.

Arima held out IXA in his right hand and used his left hand to push the door open. He flanked the walls and walked in, scanning the lab for any presence. 

Nothing.

Arima sighed and allowed himself a moment to relax. He had scrapped the mask as he walked in, favouring his glasses much more than being a blind bat. He definitely should have wore contacts, he belatedly realized.

Arima walked forward to examine all the apparatus. It took quite some time considering the size of the place and Arima had to wonder how long it took for Aogiri to prepare for each move to another base. The furthest end of the lab, however, contained tanks and capsules of some kind of preserving liquid. And they housed specimens. His mission had been to destroy Kanou’s lab and obtain as much information as possible about its weaponry.

Arima examined each capsule and at last, he came across a mop of purple hair.

It was the Gourmet, half his body opened up with stitches in some places. He was no longer in this world, and yet, this sick doctor was still using him for an experiment as gruesome as this. Arima resisted the urge to barge into the floor below and kill whatever was there, if it meant that he could find the doctor.

Arima went around placing bombs, and more at the foundations of the base to destroy as many parts of the base as possible. He was half done when he heard the unmistakable sound of two people having a conversation. One was a young girl and the other, a man.

There was a high chance that it was Eto and Kanou.

And there was only one exit. 

He was kind of... screwed.

As he had suspected, the two figures walked into the lab, discussing something Arima could not quite catch while he was crouched behind a metal table. As the door was about to close, Arima mustered as much speed as possible and dashed out of the lab. 

Eto whipped around and after a growl, gave chase immediately. She shouted orders on the way. “Get that intruder!” she yelled. Arima could finally be thankful for having the cloak as it hid his very recognisable white hair. 

Ghouls started to swarm around him and Arima had to use his IXA quickly to hide his identity. If the Owl knew that the famed Reaper was here, she would turn into a Kakuja and kill him on the spot. 

Arima was so focused on reaching ground level that he almost killed whoever who grabbed his arm quickly and covered his mouth. A tentacle -- Bikaku maybe? -- wrapped around the wrist that was holding onto IXA. 

“Shhh, we’re here to help you escape,” the voice whispered urgently. Arima recognised it.

“... You’re the ghoul from before?”

“Yep. And you’re the Reaper. I never thought the CCG would be this sacrificial, but whatever. I’ve no time to explain further, but there are some of us in Aogiri under Miza’s -- Three Blades’ -- direct order, and we’re not too fond of the leadership ‘round here. We’lll help you escape on the condition that you cooperate and promise that you’ll not kill any of us halfway,” the ghoul said.

Arima hesitated for a second, then nodded in response. He didn't have much choice but to trust the ghoul if he wanted to get out of her alive. The Bikaku ghoul released his grip on the Reaper. “This way.” Arima followed quickly. The ghoul opened up an air vent. “I hope you’re fit, ‘cause you’ll need to push your way up lots of shit. Also, name’s Ken,” the ghoul, Ken, reached out a hand to shake Arima’s before helping Arima slide down the vent.

Arima reached out to shake it. “Arima Kishou. A pleasure to meet you, Ken,” Arima replied. What a coincidence. Arima seemed to instantly take to anyone whose name was Ken. He hoped to see the ghoul once again, for he had the feeling that they could work together well just as he and Haise did. “See you soon.”

With that, Arima escaped the base and back to the headquarters. He would have lots of things to report to the Director.


	35. Slaughter

The van was entirely silent as it drove down the hill from HQ, turning left onto the road towards the 7th Ward. Amon Koutarou had provided information on potential Aogiri base locations, so they headed there first to remove any vanguard of attack and thus delay Aogiri’s response while the recon squads searched for more of their bases. Fura already had the map of the ward laid out in his head: there were a three bases clustered in the northeast, and one in the west. They’d take out that lone base first.

Along with him in the van sat the rest of his squad, their quinque cases either on their lap or beside their feet. They weren’t the most powerful team, with him as their highest ranking member, but they were brave and reliable people. They’d never failed him before. Yet, there was still a part of him that bit at him, telling him that someone wouldn’t be returning to HQ after this mission. This was a much harder task than his squad usually took on, and it was only because the Director had said it was extremely urgent did he accept it. What if he had made the wrong decision? What if he had doomed them all to a fate within a ghoul’s stomach? He shook his head off such thoughts. He was their squad leader, and he’d make sure they  _ all  _ returned. Even if it meant that he couldn’t.

“We get off here,” said Fura. The driver stopped, and they slid open the back door of the van, slipping out into the night. He nodded to their driver, who tapped his watch in an obvious reminder to be back in time. A salute and nod later, the van was gone, and the squad was walking down an alleyway between an apartment block and a general store. As was expected, this base was in the dilapidated part of town. Aogiri often had their bases in such places, and not only because they were less likely to be found out. Many of their members were from the lower rungs of society. It was just more convenient that way.

He gestured for his squad to follow him down an even smaller alley that branched off the first one. At its end was a small door. “This is it,” he said.

“And this is it,” said another voice. “For you.”

Fura’s squad looked up at the same time, and a shadowy figure was perched on the store roof, a cloak billowing around it. The Investigator grimaced. He hadn’t been expecting a fight this soon, and he was sure that they hadn’t been spotted entering the alleyway. He clicked the activator on his case, and it unfolded into his quinque Steiner, a heavy serrated sword. The others in his squad did the same, wielding medium-range Bikakus and long-range Ukakus.

“You CCG and your pathetic weapons. When will you ever learn that they will never match up to the real thing?” He leapt off from the building, landing in front of Fura, who slashed towards him. Either he had predicted it, or he was just faster than most ghouls, because he didn’t think he could have actually missed that attack. The ghoul’s kagune was a Rinkaku type, bluish purple appendages whipping about in the air. Alarmingly, this Rinkaku looked larger and malformed, with spikes and odd protrusions covering every single possible surface. “Now  _ DIE!” _

Four more ghouls leapt down from the buildings around them, completely surrounding them in the narrow alley. Fura growled, and he charged for the Rinkaku, swinging his quinque to slice off the ghoul’s kagune. It jumped towards the wall of one building to avoid his attack, rebounding off with his Rinkaku spikes pointing towards him. Sweat rolled down Fura’s face as he struggled to keep up with the ghoul’s relentless barrage of attacks. Steiner just wasn’t meant for fighting nimbler opponents, being so bulky and heavy. This ghoul’s speed was just insane for a Rinkaku.

A harsh scream came from behind him. Fura dodged so that he could turn around, and his eyes widened in horror as he watched his squad mate being fed on -- alive -- by one of the ghouls. “HIKARI!” He winced as he heard bones being crunched and flesh being torn, and the screaming stopped soon after it had begun. The rest of his squad were barely holding off their own opponents. “RETREAT!”

“ _ DOVE BASTARD!”  _ Fura sprung away as the Rinkaku lanced towards him, kagune flailing everywhere and tearing a hole in his coat. Blood trickled from the wound in his shoulder, which he angrily wiped away, staining his clothes red.

“RETREAT! ALL OF YOU, RETREAT!” he yelled desperately at the others. Another squad member had been cut down and chewed up.

“But Fura-san!” his second-in-command protested, still fighting with another ghoul. “Fura-san, you have to come!”

“No, GO! This is an order!”

The Rinkaku cackled. “No cHanCe of tHat, hehehehehe!” The other two ghouls ran after Fura’s squadmates.

“You will die, ghoul! I swear!” He charged forward, with much more vigour this time, slashing at wherever he could get. His Koukaku cut through one of the Rinkaku’s appendages, and a sense of satisfaction bloomed in his chest.

“fOoLisssHH!” The appendage instantly regrew, then split into two.  _ That’s not possible! His regeneration is…!  _ Fura tried to back away from the Rinkaku, but the ghoul attacked him from both the left and right, and he couldn’t block the attack. The spikes pierced long and painful wounds in his sides, knocking him over onto his back and leaving him winded.  His quinque had been knocked out of his hand, too. Fura clenched his teeth.

Though his vision was slightly blurry, he could still make out the outline of the Rinkaku twisting its kagune into one large appendage.  _ Damn it! If only Arima… _

His thought hung, incomplete, as blood splattered onto the concrete.  

* * *

 The barely discernible patter of feet made her spin around. "Oh. It's just you."

"Pretty jumpy tonight, eh?" Hide joked, joining her at the edge of the roof. They had been stationed here as reinforcements for the squads that had been sent out into the 8th Ward. Everyone in the ghoul squad had been split into pairs and deployed to various locations around Tokyo. This was in case the main CCG squads found trouble in the form of half-ghouls, but Touka didn't think she'd be much help in a fight against one. Her intensive training against Kaneki had only made her more frustrated about her own skills, even as he told her that she had improved.

Speaking of Kaneki, she had no idea where he was. Several hours ago they had received instructions for this mission, and then she had spent some time with him before they all had to leave for their assignments. Kaneki had only told her that he'd been told to do something 'very dangerous, and very important'. She kicked him for that, but didn't ask further. Presumably he was with that Shinigami again. For some odd reason, she felt a twinge of jealousy at that.

The night lights of the city was glaring to her eyes, and if she strained her ears hard enough, she thought she could hear the sounds of humans and ghouls clashing. And dying. "Have we been called in yet?" she asked Hide, who was the ghoul squad's temporary leader while Kaneki was off on his ‘very dangerous and very important’ mission.

"Nah. Haven't gotten anything relayed back, so I suppose that's good. Could also mean they're all dead." He gave her an awkward smile. "So it looks like we'll have to sit tight for now."

She turned away from him. Something felt wrong about just standing there, doing nothing, while scores of investigators were probably struggling to keep themselves alive.  The same investigators who had tried to kill her and the rest of Anteiku, long ago. She must be crazy to be feeling guilty about their deaths. No doubt her old self would scream at her for thinking that way, but that was before everything. Before Kaneki.

"Worried about something?" Hide asked. "I see it in your face."

Touka had no idea what he could have possibly seen, since half her face was covered by her hair. She shrugged. "I've a chance of getting killed. Why shouldn't I be worried?"

Hide chuckled. "I’m sure it’s more than that, Touka-chan.”

She really had to give credit to the human for being so discerning. “Kaneki. Where is he?”

“Eh, off on his mission. I have no idea either, they’re all being so annoyingly hush-hush about it.” He squinted his eyes from the glare of the lights. “What else?”

“What do you mean, ‘what else’?”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “You know what I mean.”

She was going to growl at him, but let it die off in her throat before speaking. “Fine. I’m scared for him.”

“Why?”

She ground her teeth. “This mission, and all. He’s always getting into trouble, that idiot. Running into danger all the time. It’s as if he  _ likes  _ to be suffering.”

“Yeah, I get what you mean. Everything that could possibly go wrong keeps happening to that poor dude.” Hide crossed his arms behind his head. “Hey, maybe--”

“Sometimes it feels like he doesn’t give a shit about anyone,” Touka suddenly burst out. “He always claims that he doesn’t want anyone to suffer, but his so-called selflessness is fucking everyone up.” She turned on him. “You’re his best friend. What the hell are you doing?”

Hide blinked. “I definitely was not expecting that, Touka-chan.”

Touka closed her eyes. She hadn’t been planning on saying that either, though she’d been feeling that way for a long time. Ever since Kaneki had been recovering from his torture… no, even before that, when he left Anteiku and went away on his own. She had always worried about him. That worry had just somehow turned into… something. Touka wouldn’t admit it to herself. She wouldn’t admit to anyone how she really felt about Kaneki Ken.

“I just want him to be safe,” she whispered.

Static came over their headsets, and Hide’s eyes widened as he listened to the information relayed over it. “We’ll be right there.”

“What is it?” Touka asked, tension fading away.

“I’ve a report that the Itou Squad in the 5th Ward has been completely wiped out,” he told her. “And the Tateshima Squad’s in hot water too.” He gave her an apologetic gaze. “Sorry we couldn’t continue this talk, Touka-chan. Don’t worry too much about Kaneki. I’ll make sure he doesn’t die! I bet you’ll beat his corpse into a bloody pulp if he does.”

She had to smile at his morbid humour, even as a tiny corner in her mind wondered if the blonde investigator could really keep his promise.

* * *

 “It seems that the drug works perfectly, Dr Kanou, except for a few side effects.”

“More than a dozen investigators have been killed, as I heard.”

“Yes, Dr Kanou. The results are simply amazing.”

“Excellent. In just a few more days, we’ll have enough for all the wards.”

“Yes. And then, Dr Kanou, we’ll make our move.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: [Kato] Uhhh HEY GUYS! Guess what? We’re still alive :D Ok, we are veeeeeery sorry for this 3 or 4 weeks late post??? School has started and I’ve been using all my free time to either mug or sleep and Aelin has been very very hardworking and being a mugger too! *cough* Aelin u in the best class omg *cough* Yeah... Updates may be less frequent DUE TO HORRIBLE SCHOOL BUT WE SHALL GANBATTE!!! Happy Chinese New Year to all you Chinese out there and remember to go 拜年 and get lots and lots of 红包s ok :>  
> [Aelin] Go get red packets from Kato cos she's married  
> [Kato] I AM NOT! Aelin thinks I’m secretly a guy BUT IM NOT IM 1000% FEMALE I JUST ACT LIKE A GUY SOMETIMES BUT IM NOT  
> [Aelin] ;) so Kato says… of course she'll/he'll deny it hohohohoho  
> [Kato] MEANNNNNNNNNNNNNNN guys don’t believe her ok :( I’m not a guy. I’m at most a cat who’s smart enough to type and comprehend English AND SCHOOL ASDFGHJKL  
> [Aelin & Kato] BYE GUYS PLS MISS US WHILE WE’RE GONE :’D


	36. Falling

****_"We've just received reports live of another ghoul attack in the 10th Ward. Nakayama-san, what is the status over there?"_

_"Takigawa-san, I've just arrived at the scene and it is madness! Fourteen people are confirmed dead, and twenty-two more are being taken to the hospital -- the CCG is currently trying to secure the area, but it doesn't look too good ー gah!!" The camera tilted as the reporter jumped to one side, nearly getting struck by a stray Ukaku shard. A man in grey armour came running up to the reporter._

_"You have to get out of here! The ghouls have already run this place over ー shit!" The investigator turned around just in time to parry off a masked ghoul._

_"Takigawa-san! Do you see this!! The ghouls ー oh no, they're everywhere!" The reporter ran off, and the camera dropped to the ground as the cameraman ran off after him. Blood splattered onto the screen, and then there was static._

* * *

_"Police have confirmed that another entire squad of CCG investigators has been wiped out in the latest ghoul attack in the 16th Ward. The ghoul militant group, Aogiri Tree, has claimed responsibility for this attack. Witnesses say that five of the group's members had carried out an assault on the Mutekiya restaurant and declared the supremacy of the ghouls. Dozens of people dining at the restaurant were killed, and the three attackers fled after killing the investigators as well. The lone survivor of the attack is a waiter at the restaurant, who is now currently being treated at the hospital for shock and severe wounds. Muramoto-san, do you have an update?"_

_"Yes, Goto-san. The police have currently sealed off the area surrounding the restaurant, and soldiers and armed policemen are now patrolling the streets here. The residents I interviewed all said that they are scared, they don't feel safe, and hopefully the government will be doing something about it soon."_

* * *

_"This has been the fifth terrorist attack this month. Over a hundred people have died after a group of ghouls from Aogiri Tree carried out a surprise assault on commuters at Shinjuku station. CCG investigators were barely able to hold them off despite the recent development of new technology that was hoped to be capable of exterminating ghouls at a faster rate. The unknown leader of Aogiri Tree has put out a statement through the press:_

_'Aogiri Tree exists to create a better world for us ghouls ー a world where ghouls will no longer be oppressed, a world where ghouls can live openly and freely, a world where ghouls will take their rightful place at the top of the food chain. Join us, and you shall be part of a glorious new world order; oppose us, and you shall join the doves in their slaughter._

_I only pray you choose wisely.'"_

* * *

The TV screen went black. “I need a panadol...”, Yoshitoki Washuu sighed as he ruffled through his mountains of reports. They were flying in from squads in every ward, reporting a new incident almost everyday. He had hidden the ones he didn't want to read in one of the drawers in his desk. He already knew what they were about, anyway.

It had been a hard few months for the CCG. Their numbers were being stretched thin, with the sudden increase in attacks led by Aogiri Tree. Investigators and civilians alike were being massacred ー there was only so much time before the CCG would be crushed into ruins.

Itou, Fura, Yoshimoto, Hachikawa… so many of the squads had died. The deaths of so many were scaring many of the younger investigators into resigning, fearing the threat of Aogiri Tree. Yoshitoki was irritated by their lack of resolve, but how could he blame them? Their seniors and classmates from the training academy were dropping like flies around them. It'd only be a matter of time before they were next.

Although the media only reported the larger massacres, Aogiri had in fact been carrying out many smaller, more covert attacks on the investigators. Yoshitoki was at a loss as to why so many of their squads were losing to small groups of Aogiri ghouls. For some reason, the organization had grown in power exponentially, and the CCG had been retreating more than actually fighting.

Even worse, the rampant attacks were fueling public resentment against them ー and he now had to deal with _protesters_ outside of CCG HQ, all demanding that he step down from his post. Heck, did they think they could do a better job than him? One of the Ministers had deigned to come down and talk to him, but that discussion was more for propping up the government's image rather than actually helping the CCG.

_Was it premature of me to declare war on Aogiri?_ he wondered. _We have severely underestimated their true power. They have foiled our every move… and investigators are dying everyday. Because of me._

Yoshitoki slammed his fist down on his desk, rubbing his forehead in frustration. _At this rate, my hair will turn as white as Arima’s..._ he thought to himself. _Right now, our only hope would be those two._

* * *

“Come in,” Arima said as he continued staring at a lab report. Someone shuffled in through the door. “Glad you could make it, Haise, and I’m sorry for the sudden call, even though I had asked you to take a break.”

Haise scratched his head and laughed, “It’s alright, Arima-san. With all the stress on the higher-ups, I’m sure they want our mission report soon. I’m done reading through the ten reports on my side, by the way. Did you find anything?”

Arima raised an eyebrow. Seriously, the ten reports had the total thickness of a dictionary, and Haise finished them in half a day? Quite amazing. Arima and Haise had just come back from another scouting trip around the Aogiri base to prepare for the next part of their mission, and after returning from headquarters, Arima had instructed Haise to rest for a bit while he continued scanning through the reports.

“Yes. I think I have an inkling about what Kanou is doing in his lab and I would like your opinion on this,” Arima said as he handed the report over to Haise. “For a long time we have known of the existence of Rc stimulants, and now with the reports from both Amon Koutarou and your subordinate, Urie Kuki…"

Haise scanned through the pages. His face lit up with understanding. “Aogiri's been using those stimulants on their own members!”

“That’s what I was thinking about. Little research has been done by human scientists on Rc stimulants, since we don't have much use for them apart from rare medical treatments. The ones we have are weak and hardly usable in combat.

But we should have thought about the alternative: that Aogiri has developed a more powerful version of the stimulants. What if Aogiri packages it into a drug, and has it injected into the bloodstream of their soldiers? Their Rc counts would surge and their kagunes would be much more powerful. I wouldn’t put it past Kanou to develop such a drug,” Arima said.

“That seems possible. But there must be some side effects. I believe that this drug causes them to go berserk, as seen from the reports of attacks. The area would be completely covered with blood,” Haise suggested.

Arima nodded grimly. Right now, the lower-ranked members of the CCG were spread thin across all the wards, holding both day and night shifts to prevent as many attacks as possible. Meanwhile, the stronger members were either spread out with one in each patrol group, or sent on scouting and infiltration missions to either find areas with weak protection or discover as much as possible about Aogiri’s ranks. From what they had found out so far, Aogiri’s higher ups have remained the same, but their manpower had increased drastically due to many ghouls being eager to join in their crusade against humankind.

Arima and Haise currently had their most dangerous mission yet, and the CCG were relying heavily on what they brought back. Their ultimate goal was to infiltrate Kanou’s lab and gain as much knowledge on their research as possible, and to destroy the rest of the lab after. _This should stop the deaths on our side, once and for all_ , thought Arima.

“Let’s start the next phase of our mission.”

* * *

Kaneki gagged again. “Man, it stinks here! Be glad you don’t have a ghoul’s nose, Arima-san.” He was dressed in his full-black combat suit, even with his mask on, but the smell of the sewer was everywhere. “It’s worse than eating a buffet...”

“Haise, stop complaining. We’re almost there,” Arima instructed, quinque at the ready. They had silently followed an Aogiri Tree guard into the sewage pipe, and Arima had taken him out with one quick swipe of IXA so they could rummage through his belongings. After weeks of scouting, they had realised that some of the higher-ranked guards were keeping maps on them, since their bases kept moving around. They also realised that only selected offense groups in Aogiri were being given the Rc stimulants. Most of the guards they had attacked did not manifest mutated kagune, and so probably didn't have the drug.

They continued walking through the sewers, boots splashing through the muddy water. The tunnels were unnaturally quiet, which was unnerving. They kept their senses alert, and constantly checked the map for which direction they should take. _The ghoul who made this is pretty bad at drawing_ , thought Kaneki. _It's so hard to read!_

“Ah!” Kaneki jumped back and lashed out his Rinkaku, puncturing the ghoul that jumped out at them from the shadows. Kaneki tried pulling back his kagune only for the ghoul to latch on. He winced as the Aogiri soldier bit into into the tentacle, and Kaneki shoved him away with another.

Three more ghouls emerged from the shadows, grinning wildly from behind their masks, their kagunes pulsing rapidly behind them. _These are mutated kagunes… they've taken stimulants!_

“Where is Kanou’s lab?” Arima asked calmly. Kaneki side-glanced at Arima with a (done) look. Did he _really_ just casually ask Aogiri ghouls to give them directions? The ghouls only cackled, and the one who Kaneki had punctured leapt at him to bite off his Rinkaku. Kaneki dodged and slammed the ghoul into the sewage walls, extracting his kagune before he tried to rip it off again. “I guess they really lose their control after taking the drug!"

Arima ducked as one of the ghouls swung its kagune at him, and he countered with a quick jab of IXA through the ghoul's torso, but as soon as he removed his quinque, the ghoul's flesh regenerated almost instantly. "hUmAn sCum!" it screeched, lashing its green Bikaku about, and then four red Rinkaku tentacles speared the ghoul through its Kakuhou. The swollen organ fell to the ground, and the ghoul fell limp against the wall.

"We have to kill them with one hit, or they'll regenerate," Arima said, and Kaneki nodded. Normally, the two of them would have little problem fighting lowly Aogiri henchmen like these, but the stimulants had made them faster and stronger, not to mention their augmented kagunes. Kaneki fended off attacks with his Rinkaku, then stabbed the ghoul before him with Nutcracker's Koukaku. Meanwhile, Arima was fighting with both of his quinques, stunning the ghouls with the bolts from Narukami, then finishing them off with IXA.

After a while, four ghoul corpses lay on the tunnel floor. Kaneki panted as he leaned against the tunnel wall. “We better destroy the lab before Kanou develops a perfect drug. These guys are easier to beat when they don't have control over their actions.”

They continued moving, following the map the best they could until they reached a thick steel door. Behind it would undoubtedly Kanou’s lab. But as Kaneki stepped up to the door, he felt a shiver run through him. It was-- something felt strange to him. "Arima-san, how difficult was it for you when you infiltrated Kanou's other lab?" he asked.

Arima crossed his arms. "I see what you mean. I barely escaped with my life, but this almost seems too easy."

Kaneki and Arima were two of the best investigators in the entire CCG, and they had been careful to not alert the guards, but to only encounter one patrol along the way? Very suspicious. When you've been an investigator for long enough, certain things just tingled you the wrong way.

"It's a trap," Arima sighed.

"But we don't have much choice, do we?" Kaneki balled up his fists. "The Director did say they were counting on us..."

"I suppose not. Stay close to my side, Haise, and be careful. If they've prepared an ambush, they may not be expecting the both of us to be here."

Kaneki nodded, then motioned for Arima to step back so that he could slam his Rinkaku through the steel doors, wrenching them open.

The lab was empty.

"Well… that was unexpected," said Kaneki.

"Haise, grab any documents you find quickly. We need to leave before anyone returns. I'll go to the computer and--"

All of a sudden, an alarm began blaring. Another set of steel doors closed behind them, and the lights turned red.

“What in the...” Arima started before a deep rumbling sound filled the room, which was starting to shake. Kaneki stumbled and dropped a few sheets of paper he had picked up from one of the tables. A loud _crack_ reached their ears, and the both of them glanced upwards. A large fissure was running up the wall and onto the ceiling, and concrete was dropping down on them from above. “Haise, quick, grab anything you find!” Arima yelled while he jammed an external drive into the computer, hoping that he had enough time to extract the data.

Kaneki’s kagune were lashing about the lab, trying to salvage any documents under the rumbling ceiling. “Arima! The ceiling’s going to fall on us! We need to go!"

“Just a little bit more!” he yelled back.

Kaneki ran to the steel doors and slammed his Rinkaku into them again. _Damn it, they're quinque steel!_ Cracks ran up the walls around the door, and he backed away from them as rocks fell in front of him.

“Arima, we're locked in! We need to-- Arima, _above you!_ "

His mentor looked up, and his eyes widened. Kaneki raced towards his mentor as rubble rained down on them from above, and he dived towards Arima as the older investigator tugged the external drive out from the computer. The red lights turned off, blanketing the lab in darkness.

And then there was silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: [Kato] We’re revived from the dead :)))
> 
> [Aelin] I woke up at 7 and went back to sleep, then woke up to write this :D
> 
> [Kato] Sorry for any weird discrepancies but we will try our best :’D Thank you for all the comments/favourites that pushed us to continue writing this story!! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment/kudos! This is my first Tokyo Ghoul fanfiction and thank you to my classmate who betas my chapters!
> 
> Thanks for the response guys! It's very encouraging to us 14 year old kids!


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